1 lightning, 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 Sep 21, 2:30 AM CST, 8 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 330 AM CDT WED SEP 21 2005 .DISCUSSION... A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDS EAST/WEST ACROSS THE REGION. POSITIONING THE FRONT IS DIFFICULT DUE TO LACK OF OBSERVATIONS DUE TO AN UPGRADE AT THE FAA. AT 04Z IT WAS NEAR THE TN/MS BORDER. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS PERSIST AS OF 08Z. FUELING THESE STORMS IS INSTABILITY OF AROUND 1000 J/KG AND AN UPPER VORT MAX THAT IS OVER THE REGION. BOTH GFS/NAM HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE UPPER VORT. THIS VORT IS NOT EXPECTED TO MOVE MUCH AND WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION MUCH OF TODAY. THE MODELS DO NOT SHOW MUCH IN THE WAY OF RAIN CHANCES. THIS IS LIKELY DUE TO THE LACK OF DEEP MOISTURE. WITH THE UPPER VORT IN THE VICINITY ALONG WITH THE WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY AND VERY GOOD INSTABILITY EXPECTED (CAPE > 3000 J/KG AND LI -5) FEEL THAT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE AROUND ALTHOUGH THE AREAL COVERAGE WILL BE LOW DUE TO THE LACK OF DEEP LEVEL MOISTURE. UNUSUALLY HOT WEATHER WILL PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND AS THE UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER TEXAS WILL DICTATE THE WEATHER. RECORD HEAT WILL ONCE AGAIN BE POSSIBLE. SEE TABLE BELOW FOR RECORDS OVER THE NEXT THREE DAYS. THE NAM BRINGS A COLD FRONT DOWN INTO THE REGION LATE FRIDAY. IT ALSO MAINTAINS THE POSITION OF THE UPPER RIDGE OVER TEXAS AND STEERS HURRICANE RITA INTO THE SOUTHERN TIP OF TEXAS. SINCE THE NAM IS TRADITIONALLY NOT VERY GOOD IN HANDLING HURRICANE TRACKS OUT PAST THREE DAYS...WILL SIDE WITH THE GFS WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH MOST OTHER SOLUTIONS. THIS BRINGS RITA INTO THE NORTHWEST GULF COAST AND SLIDES THE CENTER OF THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE MIDSOUTH AND INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN US. WITH THIS SOLUTION...THIS SHOULD KEEP THE FRONT NORTH OF THE REGION. THE FORECAST WILL CONTINUE TO BE HOT AND DRY FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. ON SATURDAY THE GFS BEGINS TO BRING THE FIRST ROUND OF PRECIPITATION FROM RITA INTO THE REGION. NOT SURE HOW LIKELY THIS IS SINCE THE GFS IS BREAKING OFF A DESCENT SIZE VORT MAX FROM THE STORM AND BRINGING IT UP. THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM YESTERDAYS RUN. IN EITHER CASE...SHOULD DEFINITELY BE GETTING A GOOD DEAL OF MID AND HIGH CLOUDS WHICH SHOULD LOWER TEMPS. THE EXTENDED FORECAST HAS MANY QUESTIONS STILL. THE MODELS ARE INCONSISTENT IN THEIR HANDLING OF THE HURRICANE ONCE IT MAKES LANDFALL. THE LATEST GFS STALLS IT OUT OVER SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHILE OTHER MODELS LIFT IT NORTHWARD TO BE CAUGHT IN THE WESTERLIES. STILL SHOULD RESULT IN RAIN CHANCES IN EITHER CASE. THE QUESTION BECOMES WHEN TO REMOVE RAIN CHANCES AND JUST HOW MUCH RAIN THE MIDSOUTH WILL SEE. SITE 21ST 22ND 23RD MEMPHIS (MEM) 95(1955) 94(1970) 95(1931) JACKSON (MKL) 98(1955) 95(1955) 94(1988) JONESBORO (JBR) 97(1955) 99(1921) 97(1897) TUPELO (TUP) 99(1935) 99(1935) 99(1935) && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. VALLE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 348 AM CDT WED SEP 21 2005 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-221000- ALCORN-BENTON(MS)-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-COAHOMA- CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DESOTO-DECATUR-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- 348 AM CDT WED SEP 21 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... WEST TENNESSEE...NORTH MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. UNSEASONABLY HOT WEATHER IS ONCE AGAIN EXPECTED. PEOPLE WITH OUTDOOR PLANS SHOULD DRINK LOTS OF WATER AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH NEXT WEDNESDAY. HURRICANE RITA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE TEXAS OR SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA COAST ABOUT SATURDAY. THE REMNANTS ARE FORECAST TO TRACK TO THE WEST AND NORTH OF THE MIDSOUTH SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. HOW CLOSE THE REMNANTS OF THIS STORM COMES TO THE MIDSOUTH WILL DETERMINE THE WEATHER IMPACTS ACROSS OUR AREA. LATER FORECASTS WILL PINPOINT THESE IMPACTS IF ANY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. VALLE
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:17 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A church was destroyed by a fire started by lightning.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, September 2005
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: 5479305.