Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Tampa Bay, FL

June 6, 1989Pasco County, Pinellas County, Florida

NWS Tampa Bay, FL issued this tornado warning at Jun 6, 1989, 12:41 PM EDT for Pasco County, Pinellas County, Florida. It was in force for 34 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 6, 1989, 12:41 PM EDT (16:41 UTC)
Expired
Jun 6, 1989, 1:15 PM EDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Tampa Bay, FL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Pasco County, FL, Pinellas County, FL

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

Tampa Bay, FL (KTBW), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 48 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-06-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1230 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tampa Bay, FL at 12:00Z on 1989-06-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 53 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1230 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
671 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTBW 061639
TORTBW
FLC101-103-061715-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
1241 PM EDT TUE JUN 6 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
          ...WESTERN PASCO...NORTHERN PINELLAS
 
A SOLID LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST CENTRAL
FLORIDA COAST. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 15
MILES AN HOUR.
 
AN UNCONFIRMED TORNADO WAS REPORTED IN TEH CLEARWATER AREA AT 1230 PM.
MOVEMENT WAS UNKNOWN BUT LIKELY TOWARD THE NORTHEAST.
 
THESE ARE DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORMS AND RESIDENTS SHOULD TAKE NECESSARY
PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY IMMEDIATELY.
 
 
MARINE INTERESTS IN THESE WATERS SHOULD AVOID THESE STORMS AND
SEEK SAFE HARBOR.

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, Jun 6, 8:22 AM EDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
820 AM EDT TUE JUN 6 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH THE WEST COAST...

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE GULF 15 TO OVER 100 MILES
OFFSHORE FROM THE WEST COAST FROM LEVY COUNTY SOUTH TO SARASOTA
COUNTY.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...  HEAVY DOWNPOURS...
LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME WATERSPOUTS AS THEY CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND MOVE ONSHORE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

BOATERS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WIND AND SEA CONDITIONS
AND AVOID THE THUNDERSTORMS BY SEEKING SAFE HARBOUR.
Special weather statement, Jun 6, 10:37 AM EDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
1030 AM EDT TUE JUN 6 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE WEST COAST...

AN AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT HAS DEVELOPED OVER THE GULF WAS
MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE WEST COAST FROM LEVY COUNTY SOUTH TO SARASOTA
COUNTY. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER WESTERN PASCO COUNTY AND
50 MILES WEST OF THE TAMPA BAY AREA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...  HEAVY DOWNPOURS...
LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME WATERSPOUTS AS THEY CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND MOVE ONSHORE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.E

BOATERS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WIND AND SEA CONDITIONS
AND AVOID THE THUNDERSTORMS BY SEEKING SAFE HARBOUR.
Special weather statement, Jun 6, 11:42 AM EDT, 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER AND MARINE WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA RUSKIN FL
1135 AM EDT TUE JUN 6 1989

...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE WEST COAST...

AN AREA OF RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM GEORGIA TO 100 MILES WEST OF CAPTIVA
WAS MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE WEST COAST FROM LEVY COUNTY SOUTH TO SARASOTA
COUNTY. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER WESTERN PASCO AND HERNANDO
COUNTIES AND 25 MILES WEST OF THE TAMPA BAY AREA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...  HEAVY DOWNPOURS...
LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME WATERSPOUTS AS THEY CONTINUE TO DEVELOP
AND MOVE ONSHORE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

BOATERS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WIND AND SEA CONDITIONS
AND AVOID THE THUNDERSTORMS BY SEEKING SAFE HARBOUR.

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.