The most profound cold snap to occur in at least 14 years over West Tennessee occurred during the first two weeks of January 2010. Highs in Memphis stayed below freezing for 11 out of 13 days between January 2nd and January 14th.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
The most profound cold snap to occur in at least 14 years over West Tennessee occurred during the first two weeks of January 2010. Highs in Memphis stayed below freezing for 11 out of 13 days between January 2nd and January 14th. Lows in Memphis dropped into the single digits for two out of 3 nights between January 8th-January 10th. At least five deaths occurred due to hypothermia.
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 Jan 1, 11:48 PM CST, 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1148 PM CST FRI JAN 1 2010 .UPDATE... UPDATED FOR 06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1125 PM CST FRI JAN 1 2010/ UPDATE... ADDED CHANCE OF FLURRIES AND INCREASED CLOUD COVER FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT ALONG AND NORTH OF A JONESBORO ARKANSAS TO SAVANNAH TENNESSEE LINE. DISCUSSION... HAVE RECEIVED REPORTS OF VERY LIGHT SNOW NEAR A CORNING ARKANSAS TO KENNETT MISSOURI LINE WITH THE LIGHT RADAR ECHOES OVER THESE COUNTIES. THESE TREND MAY CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. ADDITIONAL LIGHT SNOW FLURRIES MAY DEVELOP IN THE NORTHERN AREAS MENTIONED IN THE TOP LINE AS STRATOCUMULUS MOVING IN FROM THE NORTH BEHIND AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL CONTAIN ALL ICE NUCLEI WITH 925 MB TEMPERATURES -10C OR COLDER...FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCING LIGHT SNOW FLURRIES...AS INDICATED BY LATEST KPAH RADAR. NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. UPDATE HAS BEEN SENT. MBS PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 842 PM CST FRI JAN 1 2010/ UPDATE... MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL SLOWLY GIVE WAY TO PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS A DRY COLD FRONT PUSHES INTO THE AREA. WITH PERSISTENT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT...STILL BELIEVE WIDESPREAD TEENS WILL BE SEEN ROUGHLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40 OVERNIGHT. AS OF 02Z...TEMPERATURES ARE AT OR BELOW FREEZING. BUMPED OVERNIGHT LOWS DOWN A DEGREE OR TWO AREA WIDE OVERNIGHT. UPDATED ZONES HAVE BEEN SENT. CCD DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 256 PM CST FRI JAN 1 2010/ SKIES ARE SUNNY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON WITH TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 40S. HIGH PRESSURE IS STARTING TO BUILD INTO THE REGION AND WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE WEEKEND. AS A RESULT DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE FOUND SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT WITH TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW NORMAL. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION SUNDAY BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE RETURNS TO THE FORECAST AREA BY MONDAY BRINGING MORE DRY AND COLD WEATHER TO THE REGION FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY. WITH LOW TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE INTO THE LOWER TEENS OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...WINDS CHILLS MAY GET CLOSE TO ZERO BOTH MONDAY MORNING AND TUESDAY MORNING. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL DROP SOUTH OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THIS SYSTEM MAY PRODUCE SOME SNOW ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA STARTING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO THURSDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN TO THE REGION BY NEXT FRIDAY BRINGING A CONTINUATION OF DRY WEATHER AND COLD TEMPERATURES TO THE FORECAST AREA. ARS && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFS VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD PERSIST AT ALL SITES THROUGH THE PERIOD. A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT WITH A LOW/MID LEVEL CLOUD SHIELD. KEPT CIGS AT VFR LEVELS DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. COULD NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED MVFR CIG BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW ATTM. ALSO...A FEW SNOW FLURRIES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE AT KJBR THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS BUT NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO MENTION IN TAF. NORTHERLY WINDS AT 8-10 KTS SHOULD PREVAIL THROUGH THE DAYLIGHT HOURS BEFORE DIMINISHING AFTER 00Z. CCD && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 23 34 21 33 / 10 0 10 20 MKL 20 31 15 28 / 10 0 10 20 JBR 19 31 17 28 / 10 0 10 20 TUP 23 37 19 36 / 0 0 10 20 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 505 AM CST FRI JAN 1 2010 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-021130- 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- 505 AM CST FRI JAN 1 2010 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WIND CHILL READINGS MAY DROP TO NEAR OR SLIGHTLY BELOW ZERO MONDAY OR TUESDAY MORNINGS FROM PARTS OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS ACROSS THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL INTO MUCH OF WEST TENNESSEE. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS POSSIBLE ACROSS PARTS OF THE MIDSOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THIS IS STILL FAR OUT IN TIME AND THERE IS MUCH UNCERTAINTY. STAY TUNED TO LATER FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. JCL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extremely cold weather killed two people in Memphis and one in Bartlett.
Extremely cold conditions caused one death in Lavinia.
Extremely cold conditions caused one death in Beech Bluff.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby | 2010-01-03 | 51 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby | 2010-01-04 | 55 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Shelby | 2010-01-04 | 68 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Carroll | 2010-01-07 | 76 | Male | Camping | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Madison | 2010-01-10 | 54 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, January 2010
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: 211471, 211472, 211473.