Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 15, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Tennessee, February 15, 2004
Start: 2004-02-15T04:00
End: 2004-02-15T09:00
Location: Tennessee

February 15, 2004 · NWS MEG · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A brief heavy snow storm dropped between 3 and 6 inches over southern sections of West Tennessee. Some areas of Fayette County had as much as 8 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: $700
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 happened

The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.

A brief heavy snow storm dropped between 3 and 6 inches over southern sections of West Tennessee. Some areas of Fayette County had as much as 8 inches. Most of the snow melted within hours after the event.

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 Feb 15, 3:41 AM CST, 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 3:41 AM CST, 19 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
341 AM CST SUN FEB 15 2004

.DISCUSSION...
PROBLEM OF THE DAY WILL BE IN THE FIRST 6 HOURS OF THE
FORECAST. SURFACE LOW IS NEAR BHM AT 08Z...WITH UPPER LOW PROBABLY
JUST WEST OF JAN. TEMPERATURES IN OUR CWA ARE UPPER 30S AND LOWER
40S. DEWPOINTS RANGE FROM MID 20S EXTREME NORTH TO NEAR 40 SOUTH.
NO REPORTS OF SNOW ANYWHERE IN OUR CWA AT 08Z.
&&

.SHORT TERM (THROUGH MONDAY)...
NOTED TEMPERATURES HAVE ACTUALLY GONE UP A COUPLE DEGREES OVER
AROUND LITTLE ROCK SINCE MIDNIGHT. MODEL SOUNDINGS DO INDICATE A
SMALL WINDOW OF TIME THAT MAY ALLOW A CHANGEOVER TO SNOW BEFORE
ENDING. HAVE SEEN TEMPERATURES DROP ACROSS SELMER...OXFORD AND
TUPELO AREAS OVER LAST HOUR. CLOUD TOPS COOLING SOME AS WELL.
WILL DROP A FEW OF THE NORTHERN COUNTIES FROM ADVISORY. WILL
LOWER ACCUMULATIONS TO 1-2 INCHES...MAINLY ON GRASSY AREAS.
WILL MENTION A RAIN MIX WITH SNOW...BUT WITH TEMPS AROUND 40 ALL
NIGHT...IT WOULD HAVE TO SNOW RATHER HARD TO ACCUMULATE AT ALL.

WILL PROBABLY SEE CLEARING ACROSS WEST HALF OF AREA BY NOON...BUT
SOUTHEAST PORTIONS WILL LIKELY NOT CLEAR UNTIL CLOSE TO SUNSET. WITH
CURRENT READINGS NEAR OR ABOVE FORECAST HIGHS...WILL NEED TO BOOST
THEM A LITTLE...ESPECIALLY WITH SOME SUNSHINE EXPECTED.

SKIES SHOULD BE MOSTLY CLEAR TONIGHT...BUT WINDS OF 5 TO 10 KNOTS
WILL STOP TEMPS FROM PLUNGING. WILL LIKELY SEE SOME HIGH CLOUDS
MOVE ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON. SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS
THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY WILL HAVE NO PRECIPITATION WITH
IT.

&&

.LONG TERM (TUESDAY AND BEYOND)...
PATTERN BECOMES MORE PROGRESSIVE...WITH A RIDGE OVER US BY THURSDAY.
ANOTHER PRECIP EVENT BY FRIDAY OR FRIDAY NIGHT APPEARS TO BE
REASONABLE. AS WE GET TOWARD END OF THE WEEK...UPPER AND SURFACE
PATTERNS ARE INDICATIVE OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...HAVE TENDED
EXTENDED FORECAST UP A COUPLE OF DEGREES...BUT NOWHERE NEAR MEX
GUIDANCE FOR HIGHS AT THIS TIME. COOLING AGAIN SLIGHTLY BY SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY OF NEXT WEEK.
&&

.MEG...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...SNOW ADVISORY FOR PHILLIPS COUNTY UNTIL NOON.
MS...SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL NOON ALL OF NRN MS EXCEPT DESOTO COUNTY.
MO...NONE.
TN...SNOW ADVISORY UNTIL NOON SOUTHEAST OF A LEXINGTON TO
BOLIVAR LINE.
&&

WAGNER

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 14, 4:45 PM CST, 11 hours 15 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Henderson

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.654, -88.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Decatur

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Decatur forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.603, -88.109 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chester

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Chester forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.422, -88.613 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fayette

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Fayette forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.197, -89.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hardeman

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Hardeman forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.207, -88.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, McNairy

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: McNairy forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.175, -88.564 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hardin

When: February 15, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Property damage: $100
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.199, -88.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Tennessee in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, February 2004

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5386008, 5386009, 5386010, 5386011, 5386012, 5386013, 5386014.