Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Raleigh, NC
NWS Raleigh, NC issued this tornado warning at Feb 21, 1989, 11:51 AM EST for Johnston County, North Carolina. It was in force for 69 min. 2 reports 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
- Feb 21, 1989, 11:51 AM EST (16:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1989, 1:00 PM EST
- In force
- 69 min
- Issued by
- NWS Raleigh, NC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Johnston 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 12:10 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Johnston, NC | |
| Feb 21, 12:10 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Johnston, 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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 152 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 480 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KRDU 211653
TORRDU
NCC101-211800-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
1151 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN EAST CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
...JOHNSTON
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED TO HAVE OCCURRED JUST EAST OF BENSON AT ABOUT
1140 AM. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT APPROXIMATELTY 50
MPH.
PEOPLE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR LIVES. GO TO A BASEMENT...THE CENTER OF
BUILDINGS...COVER YOUR HEAD. DO NOT GO NEAR DOORS OR WINDOWS. GET
OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. GET INTO A STURDY BUILDING OR A
DITCH.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 5:53 AM EST, 5 hours 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH/DURHAM, NC 600 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989 ... DENSE FOG OVER MUCH OF NORTHEAST PIEDMONT..NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN..AND PORTIONS OF THE SANDHILLS. EARLY THIS MORNING DENSE FOG AGAIN COVERED THE NORTHEAST PIEDMONT..NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN..AND PORTIONS OF THE SANDHILLS. VISIBILITY AT THE RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT WAS LESS THAN 1/16 OF A MILE. THE VISIBILITIES WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE DURING THE MORNING HOURS BUT WILL BE RESTRICTED MOST OF THE DAY DUE TO RAIN. DRIVE CAREFULLY AND ALLOW EXTRA TIME FOR TRAVEL. KK
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 10:29 AM EST, 1 hour 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC 1022 AM EST TUE FEB 21 1989 ...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN RANDOLPH COUNTY OF THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT... AT 1020 AM...RADAR SHOWS A SMALL LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN EXTENDED FROM SOUTH OF RAMSEUR AND EAST OF SEAGROVE IN EASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THESE STORMS COULD CONTAIN SOME HAIL...VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. POSSIBLE FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND ROADS ARE POSSIBLE. THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MOVE INTO CHATHAM COUNTY IN THE NEXT ONE HALF HOUR. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. GR
The office that day
Everything else NWS Raleigh, NC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 10:16 AM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Moore | 59 min |
| Feb 21, 10:28 AM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Chatham, Lee | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 10:43 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Orange | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 11:00 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Durham | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 11:07 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Wake | 68 min |
| Feb 21, 11:14 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Granville | 61 min |
| Feb 21, 11:30 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Johnston | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 11:37 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Franklin, Vance | 68 min |
| Feb 21, 11:40 AM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Cumberland | 65 min |
| Feb 21, 11:48 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RAH | Warren | 57 min |
| Feb 21, 11:57 AM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Nash, Wilson | 63 min |
| Feb 21, 12:01 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Wayne | 59 min |
| Feb 21, 12:30 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Edgecombe, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 12:30 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Halifax | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 12:47 PM EST | Tornado Warning | RAH | Northampton | 58 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.