An early morning mesoscale convective system moved from Southern Missouri into Northeast Arkansas on June 16th. The system eventually swept across the entire Mid South by Noon.
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.
An early morning mesoscale convective system moved from Southern Missouri into Northeast Arkansas on June 16th. The system eventually swept across the entire Mid South by Noon. There were numerous reports of damaging wind and isolated reports of large hail.
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 Jun 28, 1:10 AM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 210 AM CDT TUE JUN 28 2011 .DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH TODAY AND BRING THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK. CURRENTLY...A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STRETCHES FROM MIDDLE KENTUCKY INTO EXTREME SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. SOME ADDITIONAL SHOWERS HAVE POPPED UP OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST TENNESSEE. MODELS INDICATE THAT ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY WILL BLOSSOM FURTHER WEST ALONG THE FRONT BY 12Z. THUS NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL SHOULD SEE SOME DEVELOPMENT OCCUR OVER THE NEXT 1 TO 3 HOURS. FRONT WILL CONTINUE SINKING SOUTH AND BY 12Z EXPECT NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO BE OCCURRING ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS THE FRONT INTERACTS WITH DAYTIME HEATING. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREATS. HIGHS WILL LIKELY BE COOLER TODAY WITH A LOT OF LOCATIONS POSSIBLY SEEING HIGHS IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S THANKS TO CLOUDS AND RAIN. WARMEST TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI WHERE THEY WILL HAVE A LITTLE LONGER TO WARM UP BEFORE THE FRONT MOVES INTO THE REGION. HIGHS IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI WILL LIKELY BE IN THE MID 90S. SOME SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MAY OCCUR INTO THE EVENING ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI BUT SHOULD DIE DOWN IN COVERAGE BY MIDNIGHT. WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE END OF THE FORECAST...UPPER RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY BUILD FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE MID-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. THE RIDGE WILL INTENSIFY BY THE END OF THE WEEK AND BY THE WEEKEND...THE CENTER OF THE RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY START SINKING SOUTH INTO THE MIDSOUTH. THE RIDGE WILL ALLOW FOR DRY CONDITIONS THROUGH THE PERIOD. HIGHS WILL GRADUALLY WARM EACH DAY AND BY THE END OF THE WEEK INTO THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND...READINGS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 90S AND POSSIBLY APPROACHING THE CENTURY MARK. LOWS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 DEGREES. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL ALLOW DEWPOINTS TO MIX DOWN INTO THE LOWER TO MID 60S THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY. HOWEVER BY FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...MOISTURE WILL RETURN AS SFC WINDS TURN AROUND TO THE SOUTH. THIS WILL ALLOW DEWPOINTS TO REACH INTO THE LOWER 70S THUS HEAT ADVISORIES MAY BECOME NECESSARY BY THE END OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. BY MONDAY...THE GFS IS INDICATING THE RIDGE MAY WEAKEN SOME WHICH MAY ALLOW FOR SOME DIURNAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. WILL KEEP A 20 POP OTHERWISE WILL CONTINUE WITH A DRY FORECAST FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. KRM && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE VFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST FOR MOST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION STARTING OVERNIGHT AND CONTINUING THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT SOUTH OVERNIGHT AND GRADUALLY SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST AT 5 TO 10 KNOTS TUESDAY MORNING AND EVENTUALLY TO THE NORTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON AFTER THE COLD FRONT PASSES. WINDS WILL BECOME NORTHEAST AFTER SUNSET TUESDAY EVENING. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 91 73 92 71 / 60 10 10 0 MKL 87 66 90 61 / 60 10 10 0 JBR 89 69 93 68 / 40 10 0 0 TUP 94 70 91 64 / 60 20 10 0 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 319 AM CDT TUE JUN 28 2011 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-291200- 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- 319 AM CDT TUE JUN 28 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH TODAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE REGION. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SOME STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY HEAT INDEX VALUES MAY APPROACH HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA BY LATER THIS WEEK INTO THIS WEEKEND AS INCREASING HUMIDITY VALUES COMBINE WITH VERY HOT TEMPERATURES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY ACROSS THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH. KRM
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 151 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:32 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Straight line winds knocked down numerous trees from just north of Imboden on Highway 63 into Pocahontas. A six foot fence was also blown over in Pocahontas.
Straight line winds knocked down trees and power lines from Imboden to Black Rock. A tree was knocked on to a home in Black Rock.
Straight line winds knocked down trees and power lines down across Craighead County. Trees were knocked down on County Roads 333 and 318. Power lines were knocked down on East Highland Drive in Jonesboro. A tree was also blown down on Highway 163 south of Jonesboro.
Straight line winds knocked down trees on Highway 364 in Vanndale.
A 71 mph wind gust was recorded at the Walnut Ridge Regional Airport.
Straight line winds knocked a tractor trailer off Highway 49 between Marmaduke and Halliday.
Straight line winds caused widespread damage across the city of Osceola with numerous trees, power lines, power poles and large street lights knocked down. The West Elementary School was also damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, June 2011
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: 328743, 328745, 328744, 328758, 328759, 328749, 328768, 328801.