Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this tornado warning at Jun 12, 1989, 6:26 PM EDT for Ritchie County, West Virginia. It was in force for 64 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 12, 1989, 6:26 PM EDT (22:26 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 12, 1989, 7:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County Ritchie County, WV
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 154 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
- NaN m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 106 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 166 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 KCRW 122228
TORCRW
WVC085-122330-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV
626 PM EDT MON JUN 12 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY
IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF WEST VIRGINIA
RITCHIE
AT 600 PM EDT THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO AT WALKER IN WOOD
COUNTY MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. ALSO REPORTED WAS AN INTENSE FALL
OF TWO INCH HAIL DRIVEN BY DESTRUCTIVE WINDS. DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS
WAS REPORTED.
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...TAKE SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. ACT NOW. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...
GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS.
ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES. TAKE COVER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING
OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
LISTEN FOR FURTHER WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS HAVING TO DO WITH
THIS TORNADO AND VIOLENT *HAILSTORM.
END/PARKEWhat 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, Jun 12, 4:09 PM EDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WEST VIRGINIA 400 PM EDT MON JUN 12 1989 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE TRI STATE... AT 400 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHERN OHIO FROM ZANESVILLE SOUTH TO NEAR HUNTINGTON AND IN NORTHEAST KENTUCKY FROM JUST SOUTH OF PORTSMOUTH OHIO WEST TO LEXINGTON. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHERN JACKSON COUNTY OHIO AND IN LEWIS COUNTY KENTUCKY. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING JUST NORTH OF EAST AT ABOUT 35 MPH. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT IN PORTIONS OF OHIO AND KENTUCKY SO BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER WITH THE APPROACH OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS|. SOME COULD CONTAIN HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAIN. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS. HARRISON...
Special weather statement, Jun 12, 5:45 PM EDT, 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKINS WV 5:45 PM EDT MON JUN 12 1989 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR A LARGE PART OF WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA UNTIL 11:00 PM THIS EVENING... AT 5:45 PM EST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM NEAR NEW MARTINSVILLE WEST VIRGINIA SOUTHWEST TO NEAR HUNTINGTON. THE LARGEST STORM WAS 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PARKERSBURG. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 TEN MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM MAY HAVE SOME HAIL..FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTING..STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN. PEOPLE IN NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA ARE URGED TO STAY ALERT AND LISTEN TO COMMERCIAL RADIO..TV..OR WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. END/PURDY
Special weather statement, Jun 12, 6:18 PM EDT, 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTINGTON WEST VIRGINIA 615 PM EDT MON JUN 12 1989 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MASON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA HAS EXPIRED... ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR EASTERN KENTUCKY SOUTHERN OHIO AND WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT... THE THUNDERSTORM THAT MOVED THROUGH MASON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA AND PRODUCED HAIL STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN IS NOW IS CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA AND MOVING EAST. AS THIS STORM MOVED THROUGH THE COUNTY NUMEROUS TREES WERE BLOWN OVER ON RT. 62 AND ON JERICHO RD. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE SCATTERED ACROSS THE REGION AND THERE REMAINS THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER D EVELOPING AGAIN THIS EVENING. HATFIELD
The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 5:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Calhoun, Jackson, Roane | 68 min |
| Jun 12, 6:50 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Harrison, Lewis, Upshur | 55 min |
| Jun 12, 7:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Braxton, Webster | 55 min |
| Jun 12, 7:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Preston | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in West Virginia, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.