Tennessee, 2001

Flood and Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 31, 2001

May 31, 2001 · NWS MEG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15,000
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.

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 31, 9:53 AM CST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 9:53 AM CST, 3 hours 7 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1053 AM CDT THU MAY 31 2001

12Z UA CHARTS PLACED THE UPR LOW OVR THE IA/MO LINE WITH DEEP MOIST
IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION. THE SFC LO WAS SITUA OVR NRN MO WITH A
TRAILING CDFNT SWWD THRU AR AND A TROF EXTENDING SEWD THRU KY INTO
CNTRL TN. MOST OF THE PRECIP HAS MOVED EAST OF THE FA THIS MORNING
WITH SOME RESIDUAL SHRA OVR NW MS. EXPECT A DRY PD THRU EARLY THIS
AFTN AND SOME CLEARING AS NOTED ON CURRENT IR LOOP. LOOKING AT
INSTABILITY PARAMETERS AM NOT CONVINCED OF POTENTIAL FOR SVR IN ALL
AREAS THAT WAS EARLIER ADVERTISED...MAINLY IN WRN SXNS OF THE FA.
HAVE UPDATED ZNS TO REDUCE POPS TO CHC CATEGORY AND LWR WIND SPEUEDS
IN ALL AREAS. WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME CLEARING THIS AFTN HAVE
LEFT TEMP FCST ALONE FOR NOW.

.MEG...NONE.

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Madison

When
May 31, 1:00 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Madison County, Jackson
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.608, -88.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several homes and businesses were damaged after nearly 2.5 inches of rain fell. As much as 2 feet of water covered U.S. Highway 70.

Thunderstorm Wind, Chester

When
May 31, 2:00 PM CST to 2:05 PM CST
Where
Chester County, Henderson
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.433, -88.667

A few trees were blown down.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
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: 5250988, 5250920.