An upper level low produced showers and thunderstorms over North Mississippi during the late afternoon hours of August 21st, 2008. Some of the storms produced flash flooding.
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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.
An upper level low produced showers and thunderstorms over North Mississippi during the late afternoon hours of August 21st, 2008. Some of the storms produced flash flooding.
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 Aug 21, 2:22 PM CST, 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 322 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 .DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR SATELLITE TRENDS ALONG WITH UPPER AIR PROFILERS CONTINUE TO INDICATE AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH LOCATED ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS WITH SEVERAL SHORTWAVES EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TROUGH AXIS. MEANWHILE...TROPICAL STORM FAY WAS LOCATED NEAR JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA. TEMPERATURES HAVE WARMED INTO THE 80S ACROSS THE MID SOUTH ALLOWING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. MAIN CHALLENGE IN THIS FORECAST PACKAGE IS RAIN POTENTIAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IN THE SHORT TERM...AND ANY POTENTIAL RAIN CHANCES ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL STORM FAY IN THE LONG TERM. .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT)...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT ACROSS THE MID SOUTH AS A MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE ROTATES THROUGH THE BASE OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. AT THIS TIME EXPECTING OVERALL COVERAGE TO GRADUALLY DECREASE IN COVERAGE LATER TONIGHT WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. KEPT CHANCE POPS GOING ON FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SLOWLY DEPARTS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TOWARDS THE END OF THE PERIOD. .LONG TERM...(MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...LATEST LONG RANGE MODELS (GFS/ECMWF) INDICATE TROPICAL STORM FAY WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE MID SOUTH BY THE START OF THE PERIOD AS IT MOVES ALONG THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND MOVES NORTHWEST INTO CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI TUESDAY BEFORE BEING ABSORBED BY AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD. MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO POPS FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST PACKAGE BASED ON LATEST TRENDS. LOW END POPS AT THIS TIME MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED UPWARD ACCORDINGLY IF THE LATEST MODEL TRENDS CONTINUE. && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 301 AM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-221015- 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- 301 AM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 337 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 MSZ014>016-212115- UNION MS-LEE MS-PONTOTOC MS- 337 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 ...THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR... NORTHERN LEE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... NORTHEASTERN PONTOTOC COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... SOUTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS LOCATED 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF FURRS AT 337 PM CDT...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 11 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. THIS STORM IS NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE AND NO WARNINGS ARE ANTICIPATED. PEOPLE IN LEE...PONTOTOC AND UNION COUNTIES SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CDT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 344 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 MSZ005-TNZ091-212115- ALCORN MS-MCNAIRY TN- 344 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2008 ...THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR... EASTERN ALCORN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... SOUTHERN MCNAIRY COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE... A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL AND 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS LOCATED OVER GLEN AT 344 PM CDT...MOVING NORTH AT 12 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. THIS STORM IS NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE AND NO WARNINGS ARE ANTICIPATED. PEOPLE IN ALCORN AND MCNAIRY COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE CITY OF CORINTH...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 415 PM CDT.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:44 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding in Pontotoc. City Hall and the fire house were flooded. Main Street between Oxford and Reynolds Street was closed due to high water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, August 2008
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: 130631.