Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Shreveport, LA
NWS Shreveport, LA issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1989, 7:30 PM CDT for Howard County, Arkansas. It was in force for 60 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
- May 18, 1989, 7:30 PM CDT (00:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1989, 8:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Shreveport, LA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Howard County, AR
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 8:20 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Howard, AR |
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
Longview/Gregg, TX (KGGG), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 201 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
- 280 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -174 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1227 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 158 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KSHV 190035 COR TORSHV ARC061-190130- BULLETIN...EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED..COR TO CODING TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 730 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1989 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS... EXTREME NORTH HOWARD AT 730 PM CDT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN SHREVEPORT INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER SOUTHERN POLK COUNTY ARKANSAS MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS MOVEMENT WOULD TAKE THE PARENT STORM ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF HOWARD COUNTY ARKANSAS EAST OF GRANNIS. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A PERMANENT STRUCTURE ON THE LOWEST F"LOOR IN AN INTERIOR SMALL ROOM. GET UNDER A PIECE OF HEAVY FURNITURE OR COVER YOURSELF WITH SOMETHING TO PROTECT AGAINST FLYING OR FALLING DEBRIS.
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, May 18, 5:53 PM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND FLOOD STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA 555 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1989 A LARGE MASS OF RAIN AND SHOWERS THAT HAS PERSISTED OVER MUCH OF NORTHERN LOUISIANA FOR MUCH OF THE DAY HAS FINALLY BEGUN TO MOVE EAST AT 20 MPH. THE RAIN MASS IS OUT OF ALL OF NORTHWEST LOUISIANA BUT CONTINUES ACROSS NORTHEAST LOUISIANA AND MUCH OF EAST LOUISIANA INTO SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA. ALTHOUGH THE LARGE MASS OF RAIN ANS SHOWERS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF NORTHEAST LOUISIANA LATER THIS EVENING..ADDITIONAL SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL DEVELOP OVER NORTHEAST TEXAS AND MOVE EASTWARD LATER TONIGHT. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE AREA TONIGHT. A NEW LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO DEVELOP OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA SOUTHWARD TO NEAR VALIANT OKLAHOMA AND IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SOUTHWARD TO WEST OF TYLER THIS EVENING. THE NEW LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD EAST AND MAY PRODUCE ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE NORTH HALF OF THE AREA TONIGHT. ALTHOUGH THE RAIN IS ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS WEST CENTRAL LOUISIANA..THE TORRENTIAL RAINS OF 10 TO 15 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE PAST 24 HOURS CONTINUES TO CAUSE LOWLAND FLOODING IN THE FOLLOWING PARISHES.. LINCOLN..BIENVILLE..JACKSON..DESOTO..RED RIVER..SABINE..WINN..AND NATCHITOCHES. NUMEROUS SECONDARY ROADS REMAIN CLOSED IN THESE AREAS. AND THE FOLLOWING MAJOR HIGHWAYS ARE CLOSED..US 171 IN SABINE PARISH NEAR CONVERSE AND 167 NORTH OF WINNFIELD LOUISIANA. US 71 IS NOW OPENED IN RED RIVER PARISH BUT HIGHWAY 1 IN RED RIVER PARISH ALTHOUGH OPENED TRAFFIC IS LIMITED TO ONE LANE. LOWLAND FLOODING HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED DURING THE DAY IN PARTS OF NATCHITOCHES PARISH AS A RESULT OF LARGE BAYOU OVERFLOW. CANE RIVER IN THE CITY OF NATCHITOCHES IS IN FLOOD AND ROSE TO EVEN TO FRONT STREET BUT HAS STABILIZED. SIBLEY LAKE IN THE CITY OF NATCHITOCHES AHS STABILIZED AT NEAR 122 FEET. FOUR FEET OF WATER HAS FLOWED INTO THE SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT IN NATCHITOCHES. THE CITY OFFICIALS ARE WORKING ON THE PROBLEM. MOTORISTS AND RESIDENTS IN THE FLOODED AREAS ARE ADVISED THAT MANY ROAD AND BRIDGE WASHOUTS HAVE OCCURRED. EVEN THOUGH THE WATER HAS RECEDED IN MANY AREAS..ROADS REMAIN NEARLY IMPASSABLE IN SEVERAL SPOTS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Shreveport, LA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 8:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Sevier | 70 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 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.