Tennessee, 2000

Extreme Cold and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, December 16, 2000

December 16, 2000 · NWS MEG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 lightning, 1 extreme cold/wind chill, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 lightning, 1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Haywood

When
December 16, 2:45 AM CST
Where
Haywood County, Forked Deer
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.583, -89.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A house was destroyed by a fire started by lightning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby

When
December 16, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.184, -89.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A homeless woman was found dead in downtown Memphis. The cause of death was exposure to the cold.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby2000-12-1665FemaleOtherDirect

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2000

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5165657, 5165656.