Tennessee, 2001

Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 23, 2001

May 23, 2001 · NWS MEG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

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

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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 23, 7:17 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 23, 7:17 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
817 PM CDT WED MAY 23 2001

CURRENT FORECAST ON TRACK WITH PRECIP MOVING INTO NORTHEAST ARKANSAS.
WILL PROBABLY UPDATE BASED ON RADAR TRENDS LATER IN THE EVENING...
BUT NO REASON FOR UPDATE AT CURRENT TIME.

.MEG...NONE.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 27 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Shelby

When
May 23, 9:00 PM CST to 9:05 PM CST
Where
Shelby County, Memphis
Measured
75 kt (86 mph)
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
35.133, -90.017

A microburst produced significant damage in the midtown area of Memphis. A printing business experienced roof and structural damage. The debris from the printing business was blown next door into a hotel damaging the exterior of the building. Several trees were knocked down or uprooted with one tree falling on a house.

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

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 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: 5245105.