Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 10, NWS Tulsa, OK
NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1989, 5:13 PM CDT for Benton County, Arkansas. It was in force for 47 min. 2 reports 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 21, 1989, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 1989, 6:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tulsa, OK
- Area
- Whole counties
County Benton 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 21, 5:24 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Benton, AR | |
| May 21, 5:24 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Benton, 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
Springfield, MO (KUMN), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 74 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
- 171 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -167 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1091 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 133 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 164 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 4.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KFSM 212215
TORFSM
ARC007-212300-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR
513 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT SMITH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN WEST ARKANSAS
...BENTON
AT 510 PM RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO
LOCATED ON THE BENTON COUNTY ARKANSAS...OKLAHOMA BORDER NEAR GRAVETTE
ARKANSAS MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES PER HOUR.
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
Local storm report, May 21, 2:27 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
227 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989
TIME CDT COUNTY EVENT
1325 PM WASHINGTON GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL FELL 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF
COPAN.
1350 PM NOWATA GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL FELL AT SOUTH COFFEEVILLE.
1400 PM NOWATA GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL FELL AT DELAWARE.Special weather statement, May 21, 3:31 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
UPDATED OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK 330 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989 THIS IS AN UPDATED OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. THIS OUTLOOK IS VALID FOR THAT PART OF OKLAHOMA EAST AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM PONCA CITY TO THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF PITTSBURG COUNTY TO THE ARKANSAS STATE LINE EAST OF PAGE. FOR OTHER AREAS IN OKLAHOMA...REFER TO THE OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK ISSUED AT NOON. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF A LINE FROM CHANDLER TO SALLISAW. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE REMAINDER OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA SOUTH OF THE LINE. AT 320 PM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING IN EASTERN OTTAWA AND SOUTHEAST CRAIG COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS FORMED IN VERY UNSTABLE AIR NEAR A WARM FRONT. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. OTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT AS uSEVERAL BOUNDARIES ACT AS LIFTING MECHANISMS AND VERY UNSTABLE AIR IS LIFTED. VERY LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STORMS OVER NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA.
Local storm report, May 21, 3:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
339 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989
TIME CDT COUNTY EVENT
1410 PM NOWATA 2 1/2 INCH HAIL AT SOUTH COFFEEVILLE.
1425 PM NOWATA 2 1/2 INCH HAIL AT LENAPAH.
1445 PM OTTAWA NICKEL SIZE HAIL 2 MILES SOUTH PICHER.
1450 PM CRAIG 60 MPH WINDS 7 MILES NORTHWEST VINITA.
1505 PM CRAIG 60 MPH WINDS AND DIME SIZE HAIL JUST
NORTH VINITA.
1522 PM DELAWARE GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT GROVE.Local storm report, May 21, 4:48 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
STORM REPORT DELAYED FROM MAY 18 1989
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
446 PM CDT SUN MAY 21 1989
TIME CDT COUNTY EVENT
1145 AM PITTSBURG 60 TO 70 MPH WINDS TOOK THE ROOF OFF OF
A DRY CLEANER BUILDING IN MCALESTER.The office that day
Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 3:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Benton | 63 min |
| May 21, 4:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Benton | 51 min |
| May 21, 4:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Madison | 57 min |
| May 21, 5:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Madison, Washington | 55 min |
| May 21, 5:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Washington | 48 min |
| May 21, 6:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Madison | 63 min |
| May 21, 6:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Franklin, Johnson | 57 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.