A few clusters of slow moving thunderstorms evolved across central Mississippi during the morning hours of May 28th. Some localized areas from Yazoo County, across Madison County into Extreme northern Rankin County saw 4 to 6 inches of rain.
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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 JAN wrote it up.
A few clusters of slow moving thunderstorms evolved across central Mississippi during the morning hours of May 28th. Some localized areas from Yazoo County, across Madison County into Extreme northern Rankin County saw 4 to 6 inches of rain. Some flash flooding occurred with portions of Yazoo County receiving the brunt of the flooding and damage.
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 Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 28, 3:00 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 400 AM CDT WED MAY 28 2008 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...BETTER CHANCES FOR RAIN EXPECTED TODAY AS A WEAK COLD FRONT SAGS INTO THE AREA. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/RUC ANALYSIS SHOWS CIRCULATION AROUND THE LARGE MID-UPPER LEVEL HIGH CENTERED OVER WEST TEXAS WITH A SHORTWAVE ROUNDING THE EAST SIDE. THIS SHORTWAVE WAS OVER OUR DELTA REGION AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS OUR CWFA TODAY. THIS SHORT WAVE WAS HELPING TO TRIGGER SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EARLY THIS MORNING GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 82. SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A WEAK COLD FRONT DRAPED ACROSS TENNESSEE AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS WITH HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE FRONT CENTERED OVER THE GREAT LAKES. THIS HIGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION WILL WEAKEN THROUGH THURSDAY BUT MOVE SOUTH INTO THE OHIO VALLEY AND HELP PUSH THE WEAK COLD FRONT INTO OUR CWA TODAY. WE STILL HAVE A MOIST AIRMASS OVER OUR AREA WITH THE 00Z THU JAN SOUNDING SHOWING A PW NEAR AN INCH AND THREE QUARTERS BUT THE STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES FROM THE PAST WEEKEND HAVE MODIFIED AND WEAK SHEAR IS EXPECTED OVER OUR AREA AGAIN TODAY. THIS SHOULD LIMIT SEVERE STORM POTENTIAL TODAY BUT WITH THE FRONT ARRIVING DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WL BE POSSIBLE AND WL KEEP MENTION IN HWO. LOCAL WRF RUN SHOWS THE ACTIVITY THIS MORNING ALONG HIGHWAY 82 SHIFTING SOUTH TO THE I-20 CORRIDOR BY NOON AND INTO OUR SOUTHERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON. THE COLD WILL BE A LITTLE SLOWER AND LIKELY NOT DROP TO THE HIGHWAY 82 CORRIDOR UNTIL THE AFTERNOON. THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE DRIFTING SOUTH THIS EVENING AND MOST OF THE CONVECTION TONIGHT IS EXPECTED ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY. MODELS ARE RATHER DRY THURSDAY BUT HAVE THE WEAK FRONT STALLED ALONG THE HIGHWAY 84 CORRIDOR. HAVE OPTED TO KEEP ISOLATED WORDING IN THE SOUTH FOR THURSDAY. CLOUDS AND RAIN SHOULD LIMIT INSOLATION TODAY AND HOLD MUCH OF THE AREA TO HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 80S. DRIER AIR OVER MUCH OF THE AREA TONIGHT WILL ALLOW FOR COOLER MIN TEMPS THURSDAY MORNING IN THE MID 60S. THE SOUTH WILL SEE THE COOLER HIGHS THURSDAY BUT WARM TEMPERATURES NEAR 90 ARE EXPECTED BACK ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF. LITTLE SPREAD IN GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE SHORT TERM AND MAV GUIDANCE WAS GENERALLY ACCEPTED. /22/ .LONG TERM...THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...OVERALL THE MEDIUM RANGE MDLS STILL SEEM TO BE IN DECENT AGREEMENT. THERE ARE SOME SLIGHT DIFFERENCES WHICH COULD LEAD TO EITHER A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE FOR RAIN EARLY NEXT WEEK OR JUST MOSTLY DRY...WARM WEATHER WITH ONLY ISOLATED TSRA. BOTH MDLS SUGGEST WARM TEMPS WITH HIGHS A GOOD 5 TO 8 DEGREES ABV NORMAL. OVERALL CONFIDENCE IS HIGH IN THE TEMP FORECAST BUT POPS MAY BE A LITTLE MORE TRICKY. WIDESPREAD SHRA AND TSRA SEEM TO BE A GOOD THING TO BET AGAINST BUT ISLTD CONVECTION SEEMS POSSIBLE ALMOST EVERY AFTN WITH CERTAIN LOCATIONS TO FOCUS ON EACH DAY. FRI AND SAT LOOK TO BE MOSTLY DRY. WHAT LITTLE IS LEFT OF THE BNDRY WILL LOSE ITS IDENTITY OVER NIGHT THU AND BY MIDDAY FRI THERE WILL BE VERY LITTLE LL CONVERGENCE ALONG AND SE OF THE TRACE. ALSO THE AIRMASS WILL NOT BE VERY CONDUCIVE FOR CONVECTION AS DRIER RECYCLED CONTINENTAL AIR OVER THE NRN GULF WILL ACTUALLY FILTER INTO THE AREA. ONE MORE THING AGAINST CONVECTION WILL BE THE FLAT RIDGE OVER THE AREA. ON SAT THE RIDGE WILL START TO BUILD TO OUR WEST ACROSS WEST TX. THIS WILL BEGIN TO AMPLIFY THE MID LEVELS WITH THE CWA TRANSITIONING TO MORE OF A NW FLOW PATTERN. INITIALLY THE AIRMASS WILL STILL BE QUITE DRY WITH PWS OF 0.8-1.25 AND THIS SHOULD HELP KEEP WHATEVER CONVECTION THAT CAN DEVELOP VERY ISLTD AT BEST. H925 TEMPS OF 24-25C SUGGEST HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S AND THIS MATCHES UP PRETTY CLOSE TO THE MAV GUI VALUES. GUI VALUES MAY BE JUST A TAD TO LOW SO I HAVE ADJUSTED PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE CWA UP A DEGREE. SUN THROUGH MON...NW FLOW WILL BE OVER THE AREA DURING THIS TIME AND THIS WILL TRY TO USHER A FRONT INTO THE AREA LATE SUN. THE FRONT WILL HAVE A HARD TIME PUSHING MUCH INTO OUR CWA BUT ITS EFFECTS MAY BE FELT ALL THE WAY DOWN TWRDS I 20 WHERE ISLTD CONVECTION IS POSSIBLE. ANY CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS SUN COULD HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME STRONG/SEVERE. LAPSE RATES WILL BE QUITE STEEP AND WITH HIGHS EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE MID 90S INSTABILITY COULD BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT. THERE WILL ALSO BE A LITTLE MID LEVEL FLOW AND THIS WILL HELP CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBLE STRENGTHENING OF STORMS INTO STRONG/SEVERE LIMITS. NOW CONVECTION STILL LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE ISLTD OR AT BEST ON THE LOW END OF SCT WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF SEEING CONVECTION BEING IN THE NE. MON IS WHERE SOME DIFFERENCES COME INTO PLAY. THE ECMWF HOLDS ON TO NW FLOW A BIT LONGER WITH A MUCH BETTER CHANCE FOR CONVECTION. THE GFS BEGINS TO MOVE THE RIDGE AXIS EAST PLACING THE CWA INTO A MUCH WEAKER NW FLOW PATTERN. THIS WOULD NOT BODE AS WELL FOR ANY CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT. BOTH DAYS CONVECTION IF ANY DEVELOPS WILL BE HIGHLY DIURNAL AND SHOULD QUICKLY DISSIPATE AFTER SUNSET. I HAVE STUCK CLOSE TO THE MAV GUI FOR POPS. TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ABV NORMAL AND ACTUALLY WARM A LITTLE AS LOWER TO MID 90S LOOK POSSIBLE BOTH DAYS. HEADING INTO NEXT WEEK BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SUGGEST THE RIDGE DOMINATING THROUGH THE PERIOD. THIS WOULD REALLY HINDER RAIN CHANCES AND KEEP THE AREA WELL ABV NORMAL. I HAVE GONE ABV GUI VALUES FOR TEMPS BY A DEGREE OR TWO. GUI POPS LOOK PRETTY GOOD SO I HAVE MADE NO ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT. /CAB/ && .AVIATION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE GETTING AN EARLY START THIS MORNING DUE TO AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING OVER THE AREA. GREATER THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE IS EXPECTED AREAWIDE TODAY AS THE DISTURBANCE MOVES SOUTH AND A WEAK COLD FRONT DROPS INTO THE AREA. SOUTH OF THE THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING...MVFR VISIBILITIES WERE BEING OBSERVED. MVFR TO IFR VISIBILITIES AND CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA UNTIL 15Z FOLLOWED BY VFR CONDITIONS UNTIL THUNDERSTORMS MOVE INTO THE AREA AFTER NOON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE SOUTH ALONG THE FRONT THIS EVENING BUT VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE NORTH. /22/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... JACKSON 84 67 88 70 / 63 16 19 4 MERIDIAN 84 67 88 68 / 61 22 19 5 VICKSBURG 85 67 91 68 / 57 16 15 4 HATTIESBURG 87 66 89 68 / 43 17 26 10 NATCHEZ 84 67 88 68 / 48 16 26 10 GREENVILLE 84 67 89 68 / 52 7 6 5 GREENWOOD 83 66 89 69 / 63 9 7 4 && .JAN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MS...NONE. LA...NONE. AR...NONE. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION: 22 LONG TERM: CAB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 656 AM CDT WED MAY 28 2008 ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074- 291200- ASHLEY-CHICOT-MOREHOUSE-WEST CARROLL-EAST CARROLL-RICHLAND- MADISON LA-FRANKLIN LA-CATAHOULA-TENSAS-CONCORDIA-BOLIVAR- SUNFLOWER-LEFLORE-GRENADA-CARROLL-MONTGOMERY-WEBSTER-CLAY-LOWNDES- CHOCTAW-OKTIBBEHA-WASHINGTON-HUMPHREYS-HOLMES-ATTALA-WINSTON- NOXUBEE-ISSAQUENA-SHARKEY-YAZOO-MADISON MS-LEAKE-NESHOBA-KEMPER- WARREN-HINDS-RANKIN-SCOTT-NEWTON-LAUDERDALE-CLAIBORNE-COPIAH- SIMPSON-SMITH-JASPER-CLARKE-JEFFERSON-ADAMS-FRANKLIN MS-LINCOLN- LAWRENCE-JEFFERSON DAVIS-COVINGTON-JONES-MARION-LAMAR-FORREST- 656 AM CDT WED MAY 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI... NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL...WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY OVER THE WHOLE OUTLOOK AREA. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED ALONG THE HIGHWAY 82 CORRIDOR THIS MORNING. THIS ACTIVITY WILL SHIFT SOUTH THROUGH THE DAY. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL COMBINE WITH OUR WARM MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL LAST INTO THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... THE ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...HAM RADIO OPERATORS...AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. 22
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 706 AM CDT WED MAY 28 2008 MSZ043-049-281250- RANKIN MS-MADISON MS- 706 AM CDT WED MAY 28 2008 A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL AND 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS LOCATED OVER SHARON AT 706 AM CDT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. HIGH WINDS CAN BRING DOWN TREES AND LARGE LIMBS RESULTING IN SERIOUS INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN OUTDOORS DURING SUCH STRONG WINDS...AND BE ESPECIALLY AWARE OF OLDER TREES. PEOPLE IN MADISON AND RANKIN COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE CITY OF CANTON...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. AEC
The Jackson/Brandon,MS radar (KDGX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:31 UTC.
4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A slow moving cluster of thunderstorms dumped 4 to 7 inches of rain across portions of Yazoo County. In the city, 6.59 inches of rain was measured. Numerous roads and streets were flooded. Several dozen vehicles were flooded along with 30 homes and businesses.
Heavy rain, between 3 and 5 inches, fell across a large portion of Madison County and caused many streets and areas roads to flood. Areas from Flora, to Gluckstadt to Canton were impacted by flooded roads.
Locally heavy rain fell across northern Rankin County near Sand Hill and Goshen Springs. Several area roads were under water in this area as 4.58 inches were measured at Goshen Springs.
Locally heavy rain, between 3 and 4 inches, quickly fell across Vicksburg and caused flooding across portions of the city. Several streets were under water with some vehicles under water. A couple of people had to be rescued from their flooded vehicles, no injuries were reported.
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, May 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: 104488, 104489, 104490, 104491.