Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 15, 1989Pittsburg County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1989, 5:28 PM CDT for Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1989, 5:28 PM CDT (22:28 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1989, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Pittsburg County, OK

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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1989-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1339 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1989-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 48 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
1339 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
825 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 152229
TORTUL
OKC121-152315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
528 PM CDT MON MAY 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
          ...PITTSBURG
 
AT 525 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 2 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF MACALESTER MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
 
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.
STAY AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS AND AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET IN A GROUND DEPRESSION.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 1:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage53 min
May 15, 2:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAPawnee44 min
May 15, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Tulsa68 min
May 15, 2:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage, Tulsa, Washington55 min
May 15, 3:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSADelaware66 min
May 15, 3:30 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACreek60 min
May 15, 4:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh50 min
May 15, 4:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAPittsburg67 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 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.