Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Topeka, KS

August 25, 1989Lyon County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 25, 1989, 6:35 PM CDT for Lyon County, Kansas. It was in force for 25 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
Aug 25, 1989, 6:35 PM CDT (23:35 UTC)
Expired
Aug 25, 1989, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Lyon County, KS

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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 25, 6:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Lyon, KS

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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 75 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1989-08-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 386 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1989-08-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
386 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-145 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
729 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTOP 252335
TORTOP
KSC111-260000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
635 PM CDT FRI AUG 25 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF KANSAS
      LYON

AT 625 PM CDT...FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE REPORTED ABOUT 10 MILES
SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF EMPORIA. A VERY STRONG AND SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WAS ALSO INDICATED BY RADAR. THIS STORM WILL
LIKELY MOVE TO THE EAST NORTHEAST ACROSS EMPORIA BY 715 PM.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.  GET TO AN
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IF POSSIBLE.  DON'T HESITATE...A FEW SECONDS
MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.

FIND SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.  BASEMENTS OFFER THE BEST PROTECTION.
SMALL ROOMS NEAR THE CENTER OF HOMES AND BUILDINGS ARE ALSO FAIRLY
SAFE.  MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES OFFER NO SHELTER...SO LEAVE THEM.
EVEN A DITCH OR LOW PLACE IS SAFER THAN A MOBILE HOME OR CAR.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.