Alert archive / Mississippi / Flash Flood Watches in 2009

Flash Flood Watch 9, NWS Memphis, TN

May 15, 200922 counties in Mississippi; 20 counties in Tennessee; 12 counties in Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this flash flood watch at May 15, 2009, 4:03 PM CDT for 22 counties in Mississippi; 20 counties in Tennessee; 12 counties in Arkansas. It took effect at May 16, 2009, 4:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 15 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 2009, 4:03 PM CDT (21:03 UTC)
In effect from
May 16, 2009, 4:00 AM CDT
Expired
May 16, 2009, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
15 hr
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Flood severity
None
All 54 counties

Clay County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Greene County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lee County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Randolph County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Madison County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Obion County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 41 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:02 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 55 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2009-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2408 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2009-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 3 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
2408 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
553 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood watch went out at May 15, 3:39 PM CDT, 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 3:39 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 3:50 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, May 15, 3:07 PM CDT, 56 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:31 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 15, 3:55 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 5:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGBenton, Lafayette, Marshall, Tippah, Union3 hr
May 15, 8:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMEGAlcorn, Benton, Marshall, Prentiss, Tippah, Union3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Watches in Mississippi, 2009Flash Flood Watches in Tennessee, 2009Flash Flood Watches in Arkansas, 2009Every flash flood watch in 2009

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.