Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Shreveport, LA

April 4, 1989Lafayette County, Miller County, Arkansas

NWS Shreveport, LA issued this tornado warning at Apr 4, 1989, 1:30 AM CDT for Lafayette County, Miller County, Arkansas. It was in force for 45 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Apr 4, 1989, 1:30 AM CDT (06:30 UTC)
Expired: Apr 4, 1989, 2:15 AM CDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Shreveport, LA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Lafayette County, AR, Miller County, AR

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

Longview/Gregg, TX (KGGG), launched 00:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 130 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2423 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1767 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 9.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSHV 040631
TORSHV
ARC091-073-040715-

BULLETIN...EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
130 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 215 AM CDT    FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN

SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...

THE NORTHEAST HALF OF MILLER...THE NORTHERN HALF OF LAFAYETTE

AT 128 AM CDT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN SHREVEPORT SHOWED
A POSSIBLE TORNADO FORMING 7 MILES NORTHEAST OF FOUKE ARKANSAS.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST NEAR 35 MPH.
.

PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A PERMANENT
STRUCTURE ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR SMALL ROOM.  GET UNDER A
PIECE OF HEAVY FURNITURE OR CO>VER 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, Apr 3, 8:16 PM CDT, 5 hours 14 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
815 PM CDT MON APR 3 1989

...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO EXTREME NORTHEAST TEXAS...

AT 810 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN SHREVEPORT SHOWED
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF PARIS TEXAS TO CLARKSVILLE
ON TO NEAR FOREMAN ARKANSAS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED
35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CLARKSVILLE NEAR DEPORT TEXAS..AND 10 MILES SOUTH
OF CLARKSVILLE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LIKELY PRODUCING VERY HEAVY
RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..SMALL HAIL..AND FREQUENT AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

ELSEWHERE..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED NORTHWEST OF HOT SPRINGS
MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. THIS STORM HAS HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING
LARGE HAIL.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO INDICATED FROM
JUST SOUTH OF HOT SPRINGS TO NEAR DEQUEEN ARKANSAS TO NEAR EAGLETOWN
OKLAHOMA. ALSO SCATTERED SHOWERS WERE LOCATED NEAR GREENVILLE TEXAS.
MOVEMENT OF ALL ACTIVITY WAS TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH.

THIS ACTIVITY WAS ALL IN ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT WHICH EXTENDED FROM
WESTERN ARKANSAS INTO SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA ON INTO NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY INTENSIFY AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EXTREME NORTHERN SECTIONS OF
SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS UNTIL 2 AM CDT.

Local storm report, Apr 4, 12:27 AM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1225 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1089

835 PM CDT...ONE AND ONE HALF INCH HAIL SOUTH PART OF BROKEN BOW
             OKLAHOMA...MCCURTIN COUNTY
852 PM CDT...NICKLE TO GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AT FORMEN ARKANSAS..
             LITTLE RIVER COUNTY.
905 PM CDT...GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AND LARGER AT BEAVER DAM TEXAS...
             NORTHWEST BOWIE COUNTY.  HIGH WINDS TO 70 MPH NUMEROUS
             TREES DOWN.
903 PM CDT...GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF DEKALB
             TEXAS IN BOWIE COUNTY.
910 PM CDT...ONE INCH HAIL IN HORATIO ARKANSAS IN SEVIER COUNTY.
913 PM CDT...ONE INCH AND LARGER HAIL AT TOLLET ARKANSAS IN HOWARD
             COUNTY.
915 PM CDT...ONE INCH HAIL AND 50 MPH WINDS AT FULTON ARKANSAS IN
             HEMPSTEAD COUNTY.
912 PM CDT...ONE INCH HAIL AND 40 MPH WINDS AT NASHVILLE ARKANSAS
             IN HOWARD COUNTY.
924 PM CDT...GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL BETWEEN NEW BOSTON AND DEKALB TEXAS..
             70 MPH WINDS REPORTED WITH POWER OUTAGES IN NEW BOSTON
             IN BOWIE COUNTY.
935 PM CDT...MARBLE TO ONE INCH HAIL AND 70 MPH WINDS REPORTED AT
             HOOKS TEXAS IN BOWIE COUNTY.
940 PM CDT...GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL SOUTH SIDE OF TEXARKANA IN MILLER
             COUNTY ARKANSAS.
1020 PM CDT..GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND HIGH WINDS AND 1.60 RAINFALL AT
             MAUD TEXAS IN BOWIE COUNTY.
1050 PM CDT..ONE INCH HAIL 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF TEXARKANA AIRPORT IN
             MILLER COUNTY ARKANSAS.
1055 PM CDT..GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL 5 MILES WEST OF STAMPS IN LAFAYETTE
             COUNTY ARKANSAS.
1115 PM CDT..NICKLE TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL 5 MILES WEST OF WALDO IN
             COLUMBIA COUNTY ARKANSAS.
1115 PM CDT..ONE INCH HAIL AT DOUGLASVILLE TEXAS IN CASS COUNTY.
1140 PM CDT..ONE INCH HAIL AND FUNNEL CLOUD 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF
             LINDEN TEXAS IN CASS COUNTY.
1205 AM CDT..GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT BUSSY ARKANSAS IN MILLER COUNTY.
1215 AM CDT..ONE INCH HAIL SEVEN MILES SOUTHWEST OF MAGNOLIA ARKANSAS
             IN COLUMBIA COUNTY.
1225 AM CDT..ONE INCH HAIL SOUTHWEST SIDE OF TEXARKANA IN BOWIE
             COUNTY TEXAS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Shreveport, LA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 8:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Little River	60 min
Apr 3, 8:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Hempstead, Howard, Sevier	60 min
Apr 3, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Pike	95 min
Apr 3, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Miller	95 min
Apr 3, 9:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Hempstead, Lafayette, Nevada	100 min
Apr 3, 10:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Columbia, Lafayette	79 min
Apr 3, 10:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Miller	79 min
Apr 3, 11:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Lafayette, Miller	61 min
Apr 3, 11:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Columbia	61 min
Apr 4, 1:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Miller	60 min
Apr 4, 1:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Lafayette	60 min
Apr 4, 2:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Columbia, Lafayette, Miller	60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes 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.