5 flash flood, 4 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 Dec 19, 3:30 AM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 330 AM CST THU DEC 19 2002 KNQA RADAR SHOWS A LINE OF SHOWERS WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHING FROM THE NORTHEAST TO THE SOUTHWEST PART OF THE CWA. THE LINE HAS BEEN SLOWLY MOVING WEST. THE LINE HAS SHOWN SIGNS OF WEAKENING. MODELS ARE SHOWING REDEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS IN MOST OF THE CWA. SPC HAS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS IN THE TUPELO AREA. A SLIGHT RISK IN THE REST OF THE COUNTIES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE TODAY...BUT DON/T EXPECT ANY HEAVIER RAIN THAN WHAT WE HAVE HAD TONIGHT. WILL HOLD OFF ISSUING ANY FLASH FLOOD WATCH BECAUSE OF THIS REASON. EXPECT THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS TO CONTINUE TO MOVE SLOWLY. GUIDANCE IS SHOWING VERY HIGH POPS...CATEGORICAL EVERYWHERE. CURRENTLY JONESBORO ZONE AREA HAS HARDLY ANY RAIN IN THE AREA...BUT MODELS ARE SHOWING SOME REDEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS BEHIND THE CURRENT LINE. SO WILL GO LIKELY IN JONESBORO AND CATEGORICAL EVERYWHERE ELSE. THE FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE MEMPHIS AREA AROUND MIDDAY ENDING THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS...ONCE THE FRONT PASSES THROUGH. SHOWERS MAY LINGER THOUGH THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT IN AREAS EAST OF THE RIVER. SO HAVE PUT SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN MEMPHIS AND JACKSON ZONE GROUPING AND CHANCE POPS IN THE TUPELO ZONE. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP BEHIND THE FRONT BACK TO NEAR CLIMO. CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO DECREASE THURSDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE AREA ON FRIDAY. EXPECT COOLER BUT SUNNY CONDITIONS. THE NEXT FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON SATURDAY AND WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON SATURDAY NIGHT. MODELS SHOWING PRECIPITATION STARTING SATURDAY AFTERNOON ENDING SUNDAY MORNING. EXPECT PRECIPITATION TO BE RAIN FOR MOST OF THE NIGHT BUT MAY CHANGE TO SNOW AS TEMPERATURES DROP BEHIND THE FRONT. HAVE ADDED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS OF RAIN EVERYWHERE SATURDAY AND HAVE ADDED A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT EVERYWHERE FOR NOW. HIGH PRESSURE MOVES BACK INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ON THE COOL SIDE. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY. HAVE KEPT A CHANCE FOR RAIN ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND A CHANCE FOR RAIN OR SNOW ON CHRISTMAS DAY. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS MEM 62/37 52/35 54 +2002 MKL 60/34 50/32 52 +2002 JBR 58/34 51/33 52 71002 TUP 65/40 53/33 55 +3002 .MEG...NONE. KRS
ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017- 020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-201100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 424 AM CST THU DEC 19 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL. .DAY ONE...TODAY A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE MID SOUTH TODAY. SOME STORMS MAY BE SEVERE DURING THE MORNING HOURS...MAINLY IN SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE...AND IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY ALSO OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT BRINGING A CHANCE FOR LIGHT RAIN OR LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE MID SOUTH. NO ACCUMULATION EXPECTED. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY. THE SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR RAIN ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND A CHANCE FOR RAIN OR SNOW ON CHRISTMAS DAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED...THIS MORNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MEG. KRS
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:01 UTC.
5 flash flood, 4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several roads and streets were flooded.
Several roads were flooded.
Several roads were closed due to flooding.
Some minor street flooding occurred in Millington.
Some roads were closed due to flooding.
Some minor street flooding occurred in Laneview.
Some roads were closed due to flooding.
Some minor street flooding occurred in Covington.
Some minor street flooding occurred in Munford.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, December 2002
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: 5326003, 5326004, 5326006, 5326000, 5326007, 5325999, 5326005, 5326001, 5326002.