Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Tallahassee, FL
NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 21, 1989, 2:55 PM CST for Okaloosa County, Florida. It was in force for 35 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
- Mar 21, 1989, 2:55 PM CST (20:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 21, 1989, 3:30 PM CST
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tallahassee, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Okaloosa County, FL
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 3:20 PM CST | Tornado F0 | Okaloosa, FL |
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
Apalachicola Mun, FL (KAQQ), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 185 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
- 707 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -54 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 887 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 87 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KPNS 212055 RRA
TORPNS
FLC091-212130-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL
255 PM CST TUE MAR 21 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENSACOLA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA
...SOUTHERN OKALOOSA
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND 4 MILES WEST OF EGLIN AIR FORCE
BASE AND WAS MOVING EAST TOWARDS THE BASE AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THE
TORNADO WILL MOVE THROUGH OCEAN CITY...SHALIMAR AND FT WALTON BEACH
DURING THE NEXT 30 MINUTES.
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.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, Mar 21, 10:35 AM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 1135 AM EST TUE MAR 21 1989 AT 1130 AM EST RADAR SHOWED SEVERAL THUNDERSTORMS SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL EXTENDING FROM NEAR CLIMAX GEROGIA TO SNEADS FLORIDA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY SURFACE WINDS..FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AROUND 30 MPH.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 12:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 40 min |
| Mar 21, 1:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 69 min |
| Mar 21, 3:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Santa Rosa | 62 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Florida, 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.