Daytime heating on May 11, 2007 helped to develop scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of the storms produced large hail and damaging winds.
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 episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
Daytime heating on May 11, 2007 helped to develop scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of the storms produced large hail and damaging winds.
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 11, 8:40 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 940 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2007 .DISCUSSION... MUCH OF THE DENSE FOG THAT WAS OVER PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI EARLIER THIS MORNING HAS MIXED OUT. THEREFORE...THE DENSE FOG ADVISORY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. AS FOR CONVECTIVE CHANCES...IT APPEARS THAT THE ATMOSPHERE WILL AGAIN SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. THE AIRMASS IN PLACE REMAINS WARM AND MOIST...WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE MID AND UPPER 60S. IN ADDITION...THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE IS ONLY WEAKLY CAPPED THIS MORNING AND THIS INVERSION SHOULD MIX OUT LATER THIS MORNING OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE DAYTIME HEATING WILL BE STRONGEST. AS THESE AREAS REACH CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES (LOW 80S) ...EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM AS MODERATE TO STRONG INSTABILITY DEVELOPS (MUCAPES 2000-3000J/KG AND LI/S -4C). FURTHER WEST...FROM FAR WEST TENNESSEE INTO EASTERN ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...IT WILL TAKE LONGER TO MIX OUT THE CAPPING INVERSION AS A THICK DECK OF MID LEVEL CLOUDS PERSISTS THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. THIS WILL DELAY GOOD HEATING UNTIL LATER THIS AFTERNOON WHEN THE MID CLOUDS SHOULD MIX OUT. EXPECT THE MOST LIKELY LOCATIONS FOR INITIAL CONVECTIVE INITIATION BY EARLY AFTERNOON TO BE ALONG THE DIFFERENTIAL HEATING BOUNDARY ALONG THE CLOUD EDGE WHICH EXTENDS FROM PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE INTO NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI. KEPT MOSTLY CLOUDY WORDING THIS AFTERNOON AS ONGOING CONVECTION WILL ADD ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER. ONLY UPDATES TO THE FORECAST THIS MORNING WILL BE TO REMOVE FOG WORDING AND ADJUST MORNING CLOUDS AND HIGH TEMPS BASED UPON CURRENT TRENDS. OTHERWISE FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 400 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2007/ DISCUSSION... THE MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE IS DETERMINING RAIN CHANCES TODAY AND SATURDAY. MODELS IN THE SHORT TERM ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND USED A BLEND OF THEM. DID NOT MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. AT 345 AM CDT...MOIST CONDITIONS WERE OCCURRING ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S. THE AIR WAS NEARLY SATURATED...AND PATCHY FOG WAS DEVELOPING SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 WHERE SKIES WERE CLEARING. WEAKENING SHOWERS WERE OVER NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WAS MOVING OFF THE TEXAS GULF COAST. TODAY WILL BE SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY WITH A STAGNANT...MOIST... WARM...UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE AREA. PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE THROUGH 8 AM CDT...MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40...BUT WILL DISSIPATE QUICKLY. CLOUDS WILL BUILD ONCE CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S ARE REACHED BETWEEN 1 AND 4 PM CDT. THEN...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP. TOUGH TO PINPOINT EXACTLY WHERE STORMS WILL DEVELOP...SO KEPT UNIFORM RAIN CHANCES AROUND 50 PERCENT. AGAIN...NOT EVERYONE WILL GET WET...BUT LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE BENEATH SOME OF THESE SLOW MOVING STORMS. WITH UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE...LIFTED INDICES -4 TO -7 AND SURFACE BASED CAPES 1500 TO 2500 J/KG...A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS. WITH WEAK WINDS IN PLACE...THE CONVECTION WILL BE UNORGANIZED AND PULSE TYPE IN NATURE. TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL AGAIN BE ON THE WARM SIDE...MAINLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S. THE RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY OF 90 DEGREES AT JACKSON TN MAY BE BROKEN IF ENOUGH SUN CAN OCCUR BEFORE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. TONIGHT...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL WEAKEN AND DISSIPATE. PATCHY FOG MAY DEVELOP LATE IN SOME AREAS. EXPECT LOWS IN THE 60S ONCE AGAIN. SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH AND MOVE THROUGH THE AREA BRINGING DRIER AIR BEHIND IT. LOWERED RAIN CHANCES OVER THE AREA...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40...WITH THE DRY AIR MOVING IN. ALSO...CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT WILL BE VERY WEAK. A FEW STRONG STORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL MAY OCCUR SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SUNDAY AND MONDAY LOOK TO BE DRY AND COOLER WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE AREA. LOWS 55 TO 65 AND HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S ARE FORECAST. TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH LATE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY WILL BRING HIGHER RAIN CHANCES TO THE AREA. UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE EXACT TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM AT THIS TIME AS LONG TERM MODELS VARY QUITE A BIT. DRY AND COOLER CONDITIONS MAY MOVE IN BY THE END OF THE WEEK. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 86 68 88 65 / 50 30 30 10 MKL 87 63 87 58 / 50 30 30 10 JBR 85 65 87 62 / 50 30 20 0 TUP 89 65 87 63 / 40 30 40 20 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 949 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2007 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-121700- 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- 949 AM CDT FRI MAY 11 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE BETWEEN 1 AND 9 PM CDT ACROSS THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH. DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 60 MPH AND HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS ARE THE MAIN HAZARDS. FLASH FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE IN SOME AREAS BETWEEN 1 AND 9 PM CDT AS ANY THUNDERSTORM WILL BE SLOW MOVING AND MAY PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF RAINFALL IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE BETWEEN 1 AND 9 PM CDT SATURDAY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL...AND FLASH FLOODS ARE THE MAIN HAZARDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY IN AREAS WHERE STORMS BRIEFLY BECOME SEVERE OR PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN AGAIN ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON. JLH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Nickel to Quarter size hail fell 4 miles northwest of Darden.
Straight line winds knocked down several large tree limbs 4 miles northwest of Darden.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 2007
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: 32982, 32984, 32986, 32987.