1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 16, 1:37 PM CST, 38 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 237 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 2004 .DISCUSSION... LATEST LAPS DATA INDICATES THE ATMOSPHERE HAS DESTABILIZED FROM SOUTHWEST TN INTO EAST-CENTRAL AR AND NORTH MS. CAPES RANGE FROM AROUND 1200 J/KG OVER SOUTHWEST TN TO ABOUT 2600 J/KG OVER PARTS OF NORTH MS. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER MUCH OF NORTH MS AND ARE GRADUALLY LIFTING TO THE NORTH. FRONTAL SYSTEM EXTENDS FROM SOUTHWEST TN INTO SOUTHEAST AR...AND WILL LIFT NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT AS A WARM FRONT. WILL FORECAST 20 TO 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR ALL AREAS THIS EVENING... EXCEPT EXTREME NORTHEAST AR INTO EXTREME NORTHERN TN WHERE WILL KEEP FORECAST DRY. THINK CONVECTION WILL GRADUALLY DIE OUT AFTER SUNSET. WARM FRONT WILL HAVE LIFTED NORTH OF THE MIDSOUTH BY MONDAY MORNING. THIS WILL PLACE THE MIDSOUTH IN A WARM...MOIST...AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MEAN LAYER RELATIVE HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL CLIMB TO 70 PERCENT OR GREATER. DAYTIME CAPES WILL CLIMB TO BETWEEN 2000 AND 2800 J/KG. IN ADDITION...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE WILL APPROACH THE MIDSOUTH FROM THE WEST MONDAY AND LINGER OVER THE AREA TUESDAY. THIS WILL HELP TO ENHANCE THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTH MS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO THE MIDSOUTH FROM THE WEST THURSDAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL SUPPRESS MOST IF NOT ALL CONVECTION...AND WILL LEAVE FORECAST DRY WITH WARMER DAYTIME HIGHS. RIDGE WILL FLATTEN BY DAY SEVEN...SUNDAY...WITH TROUGH TO THE NORTHWEST. THAT FAR OUT WILL LEAVE FORECAST DRY FOR NOW. && .MEG...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MS...NONE. MO...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1045 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 2004 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017- 020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-171000- ALCORN-BENTON-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-COAHOMA- CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DECATUR-DESOTO-DUNKLIN-DYER- FAYETTE-GIBSON-GREENE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-HENDERSON-HENRY- ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LAKE-LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-LEE(AR)-LEE(MS)-MADISON- MARSHALL-MCNAIRY-MISSISSIPPI-MONROE-OBION-PANOLA-PEMISCOT-PHILLIPS- POINSETT-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-RANDOLPH-SHELBY-ST. FRANCIS- TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TIPTON-TISHOMINGO-TUNICA-UNION-WEAKLEY- YALOBUSHA- 1045 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL. .DAY ONE... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF THE MIDSOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. HOWEVER...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MEG.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:15 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several roads had 4 inches of water covering them. Some of the water came close to some houses and the city courthouse.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, May 2004
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: 5395748.