Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Charleston, WV
NWS Charleston, WV issued this tornado warning at Aug 19, 1989, 6:34 PM EDT for Lewis County, West Virginia. It was in force for 56 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 19, 1989, 6:34 PM EDT (22:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 19, 1989, 7:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 56 min
- Issued by
- NWS Charleston, WV
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lewis 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
Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 161 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
- 672 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 4 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 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 KEKN 192255
TOREKN
WVC001-033-041-097-192330-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - ELKINS, WV
634 PM EDT SAT AUG 19 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ELKINS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE
IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF
IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...
...BARBOUR..SOUTHERN HARRISON..NORTHERN LEWIS..NORTHERN UPSHUR
AT 630 PM EDT RADAR SHOWED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHERN
GILMER COUNTY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. A FUNNEL CLOUD
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM WAS SIGHTED JUST NORTH OF GRANTSVILLE N
NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY JUST BEFORE 600 PM THIS EVENING.
THIS STORM WILL EFFECT NORTHERN LEWIS AND SOUTHERN HARRISON COUNTIE
WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR BEFORE MOVING INTO BARBOUR AND UPSHUR COUNTIES.
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO..THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT.
GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT
IS AVAILABLE..SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS..PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR
BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE..SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT..SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT..DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YUR HANDS.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TV FOR THE
LATEST INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS STORM.
END/FERRELLWhat 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, Aug 19, 5:07 PM EDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
BULLETIN SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BECKLEY, WV 505 PM EDT SAT AUG 19 1989 AT 500 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA. THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL WERE OVER EXTREME NORTHERN FAYETTE COUNTY NEAR GAULEY BRIDGE...AND OVER SOUTHERN GREENBRIER COUNTY NEAR LEWISBURG. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS ATTENDING THE WEST VIRGINIA STATE FAIR AT FAIRLEA CAN EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE UNTIL AROUND 6 PM THIS EVENING. IF THESE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA...YOU SHOULD SEEK SAFE INDOOR SHELTER UNTIL THEY PASS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS...TTELEPHONES...AND ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. END/MEP
The office that day
Everything else NWS Charleston, WV issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 6:08 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RLX | Calhoun, Gilmer, Ritchie | 67 min |
| Aug 19, 6:34 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RLX | Barbour, Harrison, Upshur | 56 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.