A heat wave produced temperatures near or above 100 degrees during the late part of July. Those temperatures combined with high humidity produced heat index values of over 100 degrees during this time frame as well.
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 episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
A heat wave produced temperatures near or above 100 degrees during the late part of July. Those temperatures combined with high humidity produced heat index values of over 100 degrees during this time frame as well.
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 Jul 20, 9:43 AM CST, 17 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The temperature reached 99 degrees during the afternoon of July 20th, 2008. The temperature combined with high humidity produced heat index values near 105 degrees. One person died from heat-related causes.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Lee | 2008-07-20 | 76 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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, July 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 133850.