A cold front sagged south into North Mississippi during the late afternoon hours of July 31st, 2008. The front produced showers and thunderstorms over the area through the evening hours.
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.
A cold front sagged south into North Mississippi during the late afternoon hours of July 31st, 2008. The front produced showers and thunderstorms over the area through the evening hours. Some of the thunderstorms became severe and produced damaging winds and 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 Jul 31, 2:03 PM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 303 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 .SYNOPSIS... SURFACE FRONT HAS STALLED OVER THE MIDSOUTH. ISOLATED PULSE CONVECTION IS OCCURRING. THE HEAT INDEX IS BETWEEN 100 AND 107. && .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)... ISSUED HEAT ADVISORY FOR THE MEMPHIS METROPOLITAN AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING FOR HEAT INDEX NEAR 105. EXPECT CONVECTION IS BE SCATTERED THROUGH EARLY EVENING IN VICINITY OF DYING SURFACE BOUNDARY...MOST NOTABLY IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI. ON FRIDAY 500 MB RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE MIDSOUTH. HEAT ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED FOR A LARGE PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. WE NEED TO HOLD OFF SO THAT LATER SHIFTS CAN BETTER DEFINE THE AREA. ISOLATED DIURNAL STORMS COULD DEVELOP IN THE FAR SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA ALONG OLD SURFACE BOUNDARY AND ENHANCED MOISTURE. .LONG TERM (SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... STRONG 500 MB RIDGE BUILDS INTO OUR REGION THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. MEANWHILE ON SATURDAY THE SURFACE FLOW IS EXPECTED TO TURN NORTHEAST ALLOWING SURFACE DEW POINTS TO DROP INTO THE 60S. THIS SHOULD ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO REACH NEAR OR ABOVE 100. AN INTENSIFYING HEAT IS LIKELY WITH SEVERAL DAYS OF HIGH TEMPERATURES NEAR OR ABOVE 100 DEGREES FROM SATURDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. LITTLE IN THE WAY OF RAINFALL IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. THROUGH JUNE 1ST MEM,MKL,JBR,AND TUP ARE ROUGHLY 50% TO 70% OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION. WITH TEMPERATURE EXPECTED FROM THE UPPER 90S TO LOWER 100S DRY SURFACE CONDITIONS SHOULD INTENSIFY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 76 98 77 100 / 20 10 0 10 MKL 70 96 71 98 / 20 10 0 10 JBR 71 99 74 101 / 20 10 0 10 TUP 72 95 74 99 / 50 20 0 10 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR DESOTO. TN...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR SHELBY. && BELLES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 432 AM CDT THU JUL 31 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>092-011145- 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- 432 AM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 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 STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS UP TO 50 MPH... FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY HOT AND HUMID WEATHER WILL RETURN ON FRIDAY AND CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES AT OR ABOVE 105 DEGREES FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. HEAT ADVISORIES WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED DURING THIS TIME FRAME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. KNS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 343 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 MSZ004-009-312130- TIPPAH MS-PRENTISS MS- 343 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 ...THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR... PRENTISS COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... SOUTHEASTERN TIPPAH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL AND 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS LOCATED 5 MILES WEST OF JUMPERTOWN AT 343 PM CDT... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. THIS STORM IS INTENSIFYING AND COULD BECOME SEVERE RAPIDLY. PEOPLE IN PRENTISS AND TIPPAH COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE CITY OF BOONEVILLE...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY..
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:12 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding north of Byhalia. Several roads had six to ten inches of water on them. Water was as high as car tires in a few spots. The flash flooding brought traffic to a standstill.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding at the intersection of Center Hill Road and Grazeland, outside of Olive Branch.
Straight line winds blew trees down in Walls.
Straight line winds blew trees and power lines down in Hernando.
Straight line winds blew trees down in Lake Cormorant.
Straight line winds blew trees down in Senatobia.
Straight line winds blew trees down in Sardis.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding in the city of Hernando and across Southern portions of Desoto County. Numerous roads and streets were closed.
Straight line winds blew trees down in Batesville.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding on streets near the University of Mississippi Campus.
Straight line winds blew power lines down, just east of Oakland.
Straight line winds blew trees down on Highway 9 North, north of Bruce.
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 126709, 126672, 126749, 126761, 126765, 126773, 126778, 126791, 126783, 126793, 126784, 126785.