The biggest impact from the drought were hydrological concerns as many lake and river levels remained at low levels. Although some agricultural concerns occurred as well as many pastures were in poor condition forcing farmers to feed livestock with baled hay.
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.
Lack of above normal rainfall during the month of March expanded severe (D2) conditions across portions of Northwest Mississippi.The biggest impact from the drought were hydrological concerns as many lake and river levels remained at low levels. Although some agricultural concerns occurred as well as many pastures were in poor condition forcing farmers to feed livestock with baled hay.
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 Feb 28, 11:23 PM CST, 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1123 PM CST MON FEB 28 2011 .UPDATE... UPDATED TO ADD 06Z AVIATION DISCUSSION && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 932 PM CST MON FEB 28 2011/ UPDATE... CLOUDS CONTINUE TO QUICKLY GIVE WAY TO CLEAR SKIES THIS EVENING AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES ACROSS THE REGION. THIS WILL ALLOW GUSTY NORTH WINDS TO DIMINISH THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WITH A LOOSENING SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT. THEREFORE...ADJUSTED OVERNIGHT LOWS DOWNWARD A FEW DEGREES...GENERALLY BELOW GUIDANCE ACROSS THE BOARD WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KMEM. SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE SEEN ACROSS ROUGHLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA OVERNIGHT. OTHERWISE...MINOR ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO SKY GRIDS TO ADJUST FOR HOURLY TRENDS. UPDATED ZONES WILL BE SENT SHORTLY. CCD PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 538 PM CST MON FEB 28 2011/ UPDATE... UPDATED TO ADD 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 332 PM CST MON FEB 28 2011/ DISCUSSION... CURRENTLY...SURFACE WINDS CAUSED BY RAPID PRESSURE RISES BEHIND THE COLD FRONT ARE STARTING TO DIMINISH ACROSS THE DELTA AND WEST TENNESSEE. THE WIND ADVISORY WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 4 PM. WINDS HAVE PICKED UP ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI AS THE FRONT CONTINUES TO MOVE THROUGH THAT AREA...THOUGH SPEEDS THERE SHOULD REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH DURING THE EVENING AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES. OTHERWISE TEMPS HAVE PLUMMETED BEHIND THE FRONT WITH READINGS IN THE MID 40S AS FAR SOUTH AS NORTHERN SHELBY COUNTY. TEMPS ARE STILL IN THE MID 70S IN TUPELO AND THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE MID SOUTH THOUGH THOSE READINGS WILL BE FALLING INTO 50S OVER THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH. TONIGHT...CLOUDS WILL CLEAR OUT THIS EVENING AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVER THE REGION BY MORNING. CLEARING SKIES AND DIMINISHING WINDS SHOULD PROVIDE GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING...ESPECIALLY LATER TONIGHT. TEMPS WILL FALL BELOW THE FREEZING MARK OVER THE NORTHERN 1/3RD OF THE FORECAST AREA. TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE AREA ON TUESDAY WILL SHIFT EAST BY TUESDAY NIGHT WHILE ANOTHER HIGH DROPS SOUTH OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND MOVES INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. EXPECT DRY WEATHER THOUGH THE PERIOD WITH SEASONABLY COOL TEMPS TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT. ON WEDNESDAY THE HIGH MOVING INTO THE OHIO VALLEY WILL KEEP NORTHERN AREAS A LITTLE COOLER...LOWER 60S...AS A WEAK FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA WHILE SOUTHERN AREAS WARM INTO THE UPPER 60S. BY THURSDAY THE HIGH SHIFTS EAST AND SOUTHERLY WINDS DEVELOP RESULTING IN TEMPS FROM THE MID 60S NORTH TO LOWER 70S SOUTH. FRIDAY...MOISTURE WILL START TO INCREASE AS SOUTHERLY WINDS CONTINUE. WILL SEE MORE CLOUDINESS AND POSSIBLE A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS WITH TEMPS IN THE 60S. FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT MID LEVEL TROF MOVES OUT OF THE ROCKIES AND INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS FRIDAY NIGHT. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL PROBABLY DEVELOP ACROSS THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND HEAD OFF TO THE NORTHEAST WHILE A COLD FRONT PUSHES ACROSS THE MID SOUTH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THE MODELS DIFFER ON TIMING WITH THE GFS BEING MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE ECMWF. BUMPED POPS UP ON SATURDAY NIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF A SLOWER FRONTAL PASSAGE. WE WILL HAVE TO WATCH THIS SYSTEM FOR SEVERE POTENTIAL. WINDS WILL BE PLENTY STRONG ALOFT THOUGH THE AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY IS QUESTIONABLE. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...CLEARING AND COOLER AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND SYSTEM. SJM && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE MVFR CONDITIONS/STRATOCUMULUS BETWEEN 2000-2500 FT WILL GRADUALLY DISSIPATE BY 01/09Z. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 24 HOURS. NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS BETWEEN 10-12 KTS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH TO LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS BY 02/00Z AS HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. CJC && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 35 59 39 67 / 10 0 0 0 MKL 29 58 29 66 / 10 0 0 0 JBR 29 57 33 64 / 10 0 0 0 TUP 34 62 35 68 / 10 0 0 0 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 344 PM CST MON FEB 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>092-012345- 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- 344 PM CST MON FEB 28 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. SJM
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) drought conditions continued across the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, March 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: 290259.