2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 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, 2:31 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 331 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2001 LATEST 88D LOOP SHOWS AN AREA OF TSTMS INVOF OF MKL EVOLVING INTO A SMALL LINE OF TSTMS MOVING TO THE NE. ELSEWHERE A FEW SCATTERED TSTMS WERE DEVELOPING ACROSS SE MO/NE AR JUST AHEAD OF THE FNT. WITH MCLDY SKIES AS SEEN ON VIS SAT TEMPS HAVE REMAINED IN THE 70S MOST AREAS. SFC DPTS WERE MAINLY IN THE MID/UPR 60S WITH A TONGUE OF LWR 70S EXTENDING NWD INTO NRN MS. EXPECT ADDITIONAL TSTMS ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING AS THE FNT PUSHES EWD AND A VORTICITY LOBE SWINGS THRU THE REGION. INSTABILITY PARAMETERS SUGGEST THAT SOME STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REACH SVR CRITERIA DESPITE EXTENSIVE CLD CVR AND RECENT PRECIP FROM THIS MORNING. WILL HAVE HIEST POPS IN THE SRN ZNS WHERE THERE ARE HIER DPTS. THE UPR LOW OVR THE MID MS VALLEY WILL LIFT NEWD INTO THE GTLKS REGION BY 00Z SAT FOLLOWED BY A SECOND UPR LVL SW OVR THE WEEKEND. AS A RESULT A SECOND FNT WILL APPROACH THE FA ON SAT BRING ANOTHER CHC FOR TSTMS. WILL CARRY CHC POPS ALL ZNS. WILL TREND TWD FWC TEMPS THRU THE FCST PD. IN THE EXTENDED THE NEXT FNT WILL PUSH INTO THE FA LATE MON BRINGING A CHC FOR TSTMS LATE MO N INTO TUE. HI PRES WILL SETTLE INTO THE AREA BRINGING DRY CONDITIONS WED AND THU. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... MEM 64/80/64/82 511 MKL 63/78/61/81 513 JBR 62/80/61/82 413 TUP 66/79/63/83 611 .MEG...NONE.
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:47 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The tornado started near Ramer and tracked northeast. The tornado dissipated just after crossing US Highway 45. Two homes had major damage with one house moving off its foundation. Several other homes had minor damage. A recreational vehicle was tipped over.
Thirty homes near Middleburg suffered minor damage. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down.
One home sustained major damage. Thirty homes and other buildings had minor damage. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 2001Warnings in Tennessee, May 2001
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: 5245175, 5245113, 5245114.