Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 21, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 21, 2001
Start: 2001-07-21T13:30
End: 2001-07-21T17:40
Location: Mississippi

July 21, 2001 · NWS JAN · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $17,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 12:55 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 12:55 PM CST, 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
155 PM CDT SAT JUL 21 2001

ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY FLAT UPPER RIDGE CONTINUED OVER THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES WERE MOVING SOUTHWARD
OVER THE REGION FROM THE NORTH...WHICH WAS TRIGGERING CONVECTION
OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE REGION. IN THE LOW LEVELS AN 850
MB EAST-WEST TROF EXTENDED OVER THE REGION. A SURFACE INVERTED TROF
WAS NOTED OVER THE EASTERN SECTION...FROM YESTERDAYS CONVECTIVE
ACTIVITY OVER ALABAMA. PRECIPITABLE WATER WAS RUNNING AROUND 1.75 TO
2.75 INCHES WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MIDDLE 70S.

LOOKING AT THE SHORT TERM....SCATTERED AFTERNOON CONVECTION WILL END
BEFORE MIDNIGHT WITH LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING AND DIMINISHING SURFACE
BOUNDARY. MID/UPPER RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY REBUILD ACROSS THE REGION
ON SUNDAY...EPECIALLY ON MONDAY...MOVING THE STRONGER SHORT WAVES
EAST OF THE REGION. THE AVN MODEL SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE SLOW IN THE
REBUILDING OF THE UPPER RIDGE AND THUS BRINGS IN HIGHER QPF AMOUNTS
OVER THE WEST HALF ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY...WHICH WAS DISCARDED.

WARMER DRYER AIR ALOFT WILL MOVE BACK INTO THE REGION FOR SUNDAY AND
MONDAY...AS LAPSE RATES WILL DECREASE...ALLOWING FOR ONLY ISOLATED
TO WIDELY SCATTERED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY. EASTERLY SURFACE WINDS FOR
SUNDAY AND MONDAY WILL CUT OFF SEABREEZE POTENTIAL FROM THE SOUTH
AND DRY OUT THE AIRMASS SOME. PRECIPITABLE WATER WILL GO FROM AROUND
2 INCHES TO AROUND 1.5 INCHES BY MONDAY.

GUIDANCE LOOKS TO BE A LITTLE COOL FOR DAYTIME TEMPS IN SOME
AREAS...BUT WILL FAVOR MIDDLE 90S OVER THE WEST HALF AND LOW TO
MIDDLE 90S EAST FOR SUNDAY. ON MONDAY MIDDLE TO UPPER 90S WEST HALF AND
MIDDLE 90S EAST HALF AS THE MID/UPPER RIDGE ANCHORS ONTO THE REGION.
NIGHTTIME LOWS APPEAR TO BE ON TRACK. WILL PUT IN SUNDAY HEAT
INDICES OF 105 TO 110 IN NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS
AND THE NORTHWEST DELTA AND AROUND 105 ELSEWHERE.

EXTENDED FORECAST...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SHOW THE RIDGE PULSING UP AND DOWN DURING THE
PERIOD...WHILE MAINTAINING IT PRESENCE. MRF DOES SHOW A CYCLONIC
SHEAR AXIS AFFECTING THE REGION FOR MIDWEEK AND A SHORT WAVE COMING
INTO THE REGION BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THIS WILL OCCUR BEFORE THE
UPPER RIDGE WEAKENS AND A TROF DEEPENS OVER THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
SO WITH SOUTHERLY INFLOW OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL
CONTINUE CHANCES OF AFTERNOON CONVECTION. POP WISE THE AVN MODEL
IS TOO HIGH FOR SUNDAY IN THE SOUTHWEST AND PORTIONS OF THE WEST. WILL
GO WITH LOW POPS FOR THE REGION.

PRELIM NUMBERS:
JAN 74/96/73/96/74 3211
MEI 72/94/72/96/73 3211

.JAN...
MS...NONE.
LA...NONE.
AR...NONE.
17

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Smith

When: July 21, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Smith County, Polkville
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.183, -89.700

A few trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Smith

When: July 21, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Smith County, 1 mi S of Raleigh
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 32.017, -89.533

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 21, 5:25 PM CST to 5:40 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Leland
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 33.400, -90.917

A number of trees and powerlines were blown down. One tree fell on a mobile home and caused significant damage.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Mississippi in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Mississippi, July 2001

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: 5257339, 5257340, 5257341.