Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Louisville, KY

May 21, 1990Jessamine County, Mercer County, Woodford County, Kentucky

NWS Louisville, KY issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1990, 6:36 PM EDT for Jessamine County, Mercer County, Woodford County, Kentucky. It was in force for 39 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 21, 1990, 6:36 PM EDT (22:36 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1990, 7:15 PM EDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Louisville, KY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jessamine County, KY, Mercer County, KY, Woodford County, KY

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

Huntington/Tri S, WV (KHTS), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 202 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, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1990-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 107 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, Huntington/Tri S, WV at 12:00Z on 1990-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 55 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
107 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
590 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
113 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 KLEX 212236
TORLEX
KYC113-167-239-212315-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LEXINGTON KY
636 PM EDT MON MAY 21 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE EAST CENTRAL PART OF KENTUCKY
      NORTHERN JESSAMINE...NORTHEAST MERCER...SOUTHERN WOODFORD

AT 625 PM EDT...A TORNADO WAS SIGHTED OVER NORTHEAST MERCER COUNTY
AND DAMAGED A BARN. THIS TORNADO WILL QUICKLY MOVE NORTHEAST INTO
SHAKERTOWN...SOUTHERN WOODFORD AND NORTHERN JESSAMINE COUNTY. THIS
SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST QUICKLY AT 35 TO 40 MILES
AN HOUR.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH...
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

 ULLOM

The office that day

Everything else NWS Louisville, KY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 7:17 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKClark, Estill, Powell43 min
May 21, 7:33 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKMadison42 min
May 21, 7:35 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningLMKSpencer65 min
May 21, 7:37 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKAnderson38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kentucky, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

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.