Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Raleigh, NC

June 15, 1989Edgecombe County, North Carolina

NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Jun 15, 1989, 6:54 PM EDT for Edgecombe County, North Carolina. It was in force for 36 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jun 15, 1989, 6:54 PM EDT (22:54 UTC)
Expired
Jun 15, 1989, 7:30 PM EDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Raleigh, NC
Area
Whole counties

County Edgecombe County, NC

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 15, 7:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Edgecombe, NC

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Cape Hatteras, NC (KHAT), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 203 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-06-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 855 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Cape Hatteras, NC at 12:00Z on 1989-06-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
855 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-91 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1137 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KRDU 152255 RRB
TORRDU
NCC065-152330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
654 PM EDT THU JUN 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHEAST NORTH CAROLINA
          ...EDGECOMBE
 
AT 650 PM THE PUBLIC REPORTED TREE DAMAGE 11/2 MILES WEST OF
TARBORO IN EDGECOMBE COUNTY. THE TREE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO
BE DONE BY A TORNADO.
 
AT 655 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THE SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM ASSOCIATED WITH THE POSSIBLE TORNADO MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
 
 
 
TORNADOES IN THE SOUTH ARE HARD TO SEE BECAUSE OF RAIN...LOW
CLOUDS...ANDY TREES. TAKE COVER NOW...DO NOT TRY TO WAIT ON THE
STORM AND DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN IT.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 14, 8:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHPerson38 min
Jun 15, 6:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHNash, Wilson65 min
Jun 15, 6:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHoke52 min
Jun 15, 7:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHNorthampton33 min
Jun 15, 7:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRAHHarnett33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.