An outflow boundary generated from thunderstorms that occurred overnight across northeast parts of West Tennessee pushed south into a very unstable airmass during the afternoon and early evening hours on August 4, 2011. Thunderstorms developed across southeast parts of West Tennessee and much of Northeast Mississippi with numerous reports of damaging winds.
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 outflow boundary generated from thunderstorms that occurred overnight across northeast parts of West Tennessee pushed south into a very unstable airmass during the afternoon and early evening hours on August 4, 2011. Thunderstorms developed across southeast parts of West Tennessee and much of Northeast Mississippi with numerous reports of damaging winds.
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 Aug 4, 2:59 PM CST, 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
359 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
.DISCUSSION...FORECAST FOCUS ON EXCESSIVE HEAT AND THUNDERSTORM
CHANCES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT.
OUTFLOW BOUNDARY HAS SENT MUCH NEEDED RELIEF TO NORTHERN PORTIONS
OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. WITH DEW POINTS FALLING INTO THE 60S
AND TEMPERATURES ONLY IN THE LOWER 90S...DECIDED TO DROP THE
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING AND HEAT ADVISORY FOR THOSE LOCATIONS. THE
REST OF THE AREA IS STILL EXPERIENCING DEW POINTS WELL INTO THE
70S...EVEN LOWER 80S ALONG THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY ITSELF...YIELDING
HEAT INDEX READINGS WELL IN EXCESS OF 110 IN MANY PLACES. THUS...WILL
MAINTAIN THE WARNING ELSEWHERE.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH THIS
AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO WEAK BOUNDARIES...AND EXTREME DEW POINTS
PRODUCING SBCAPE AOA 5000 J/KG. AFTER DAYTIME HEATING ENDS THIS
EVENING...INCREASING CINH SHOULD HALT MUCH ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
SPC HAS JUST POSTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 11 PM FOR
PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MS...BUT WILL BE CANCELLED PROBABLY IN A
COUPLE HOURS AS THE MAIN LINE NEAR TUPELO PUSHES SOUTH OF THE CWA.
THE BOUNDARY WILL WASH OUT TONIGHT LEAVING A POOL OF HIGH DEW
POINTS ACROSS NORTHERN MS AND SOUTHERN TN WHICH SHOULD WORK ITS
WAY BACK NORTH DURING THE DAY FRIDAY. MOS IS IN PRETTY GOOD
AGREEMENT WITH THIS. HOWEVER...TEMPERATURES ARE FAIRLY UNCERTAIN
IN MOS. NAM SEEMS TOO BULLISH WITH CONVECTION AND GFS DOESN/T SEEM
TO HAVE ENOUGH...THUS THE LARGE SPREAD. WILL LEAN TOWARD THE MUCH
HIGHER MAV NUMBERS FOR CONSISTENCY AND WHAT WILL LIKELY TO HAPPEN
IN ANY GIVEN LOCATION IF CONVECTION DOES NOT MATERIALIZE THERE.
ANY STORMS WOULD REDUCE TEMPERATURES GREATLY...BUT THIS SHOULD BE
LOCALIZED AND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FORECAST PRECISELY.
A SIMILAR SET UP WILL BE IN PLACE BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WITH
HIGHEST POPS NORTHEAST AND LOWEST SOUTHWEST /WITH RIDGE CENTER
OVER THE ARKLATEX/. MCS DEVELOPMENT IS HIGHLY UNCERTAIN WHICH WILL
WRECK HAVOC WITH TEMPERATURES...BUT CONFIDENCE IS HIGH ENOUGH FOR
VERY HIGH DEW POINTS AND MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS OVER A LARGE
ENOUGH AREA TO HOIST AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE
AREA THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY EVENING. IT MAY BE BORDERLINE NEAR THE
TN RIVER IF CURRENT CONVECTIVE THINKING VERIFIES...BUT ISSUING AN
ADVISORY FOR ONE DAY AND A WARNING THE NEXT GETS CONFUSING. THIS
HAS BEEN A PROLONGED HEAT WAVE AND PEOPLE ARE STRESSED ENOUGH FROM
THE HEAT.
.LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH NEXT THURSDAY.
HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN BUILDING INTO THE NORTHEAST AS THE RIDGE
RETROGRADES BACK TOWARD THE ROCKIES. THIS WILL ALLOW A BOUNDARY TO
SAG SOUTHWEST AND DRAPE ITSELF ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH EARLY NEXT
WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR INCREASED CLOUDS...POPS...AND LOWER
TEMPERATURES. DEPENDING ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS...MAY NEED SOME
HEAT HEADLINES BEYOND MONDAY. NONETHELESS...THINGS WILL BE
TRENDING COOLER AND LESS HUMID BY LATE NEXT WEEK AS A TROUGH DIGS
INTO THE EASTERN U.S. COULD HAVE LOWS IN THE MID 60S ACROSS
PORTIONS OF WEST TN AND NORTH MS BY THURSDAY NIGHT!
BORGHOFF
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS
CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO PUT VCTS FOR MEM...TUP...AND MKL
FOR TODAY BECAUSE TS ACTIVITY WILL STAY NORTHWARD IN NORTHERN
ARKANSAS...SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI...AND WESTERN KENTUCKY BECAUSE OF
THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER CENTRAL TENNESSEE AND ARKANSAS. JBR HAS
A GREATER CHANCE OF VCSH BECAUSE OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
MEM 82 100 82 100 / 20 30 20 20
MKL 74 97 76 98 / 20 30 20 30
JBR 79 97 78 101 / 20 30 20 20
TUP 79 100 78 98 / 20 30 20 30
&&
.MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FROM 10 AM FRIDAY TO 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR
CLAY-CRAIGHEAD-GREENE-LAWRENCE-RANDOLPH.
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR CRITTENDEN-
CROSS-LEE AR-MISSISSIPPI-PHILLIPS-POINSETT-ST. FRANCIS.
MO...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FROM 10 AM FRIDAY TO 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR
DUNKLIN-PEMISCOT.
MS...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR ALCORN-BENTON
MS-CALHOUN-CHICKASAW-COAHOMA-DESOTO-ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LEE
MS-MARSHALL-MONROE-PANOLA-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-
TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TISHOMINGO-TUNICA-UNION-YALOBUSHA.
TN...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FROM 10 AM FRIDAY TO 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR
DYER-GIBSON-HENRY-LAKE-OBION-WEAKLEY.
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 10 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR CARROLL-
CHESTER-CROCKETT-DECATUR-FAYETTE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-
HENDERSON-LAUDERDALE-MADISON-MCNAIRY-SHELBY-TIPTON.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 405 AM CDT THU AUG 4 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>092-051200- 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- 405 AM CDT THU AUG 4 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR AREAS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM HARRISBURG ARKANSAS TO HUNTINGDON TENNESSEE. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS INTO THIS EVENING SOUTH OF I 40. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS FROM THE STORMS. HEAVY RAIN MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY EVENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 107 TO 115 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY EVENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS FROM THE STORMS. HEAVY RAIN MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING. BORGHOFF
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
334 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
MSZ002-003-TNZ089-090-042130-
BENTON MS-MARSHALL MS-FAYETTE TN-HARDEMAN TN-
334 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 430 PM CDT FOR...
NORTHWESTERN BENTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
NORTHEASTERN MARSHALL COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI...
FAYETTE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
HARDEMAN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL OR LARGER AND
WINDS TO 55 MPH WAS LOCATED FROM WHITEVILLE TO 11 MILES NORTHWEST
OF MT PLEASANT AT 334 PM CDT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
PEOPLE IN BENTON...FAYETTE...HARDEMAN AND MARSHALL COUNTIES...
INCLUDING LOCATIONS NEAR BOLIVAR AND HOLLY SPRINGS...SHOULD MONITOR
THIS STORM CLOSELY.
&&
LAT...LON 3516 8883 3474 8942 3501 8964 3529 8964
3539 8926 3538 8904
TIME...MOT...LOC 2034Z 308DEG 13KT 3530 8915 3505 8966PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
357 PM CDT THU AUG 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0309 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 SW BELMONT 34.49N 88.23W
08/04/2011 TISHOMINGO MS LAW ENFORCEMENT
TREES DOWN NEAR RED BULL ROAD...NEAR THE TISHIMINGO AND
ITAWAMBA COUNTY LINE.
0330 PM TSTM WND DMG SALTILLO 34.38N 88.69W
08/04/2011 LEE MS PUBLIC
SHINGLES OFF SEVERAL ROOFS IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD. A TREE
WAS ALSO SNAPPED IN HALF. POWER IS OUT IN THE AREA AS
WELL.
&&
RRHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
359 PM CDT THU AUG 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0300 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 W BELMONT 34.51N 88.28W
08/04/2011 TISHOMINGO MS AMATEUR RADIO
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.
&&
RRHSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
412 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
TNZ052-053-090-091-042145-
CHESTER TN-HARDEMAN TN-MCNAIRY TN-MADISON TN-
412 PM CDT THU AUG 4 2011
...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 445 PM CDT FOR...
CHESTER COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
NORTHEASTERN HARDEMAN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
SOUTHERN MADISON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
NORTHWESTERN MCNAIRY COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST TENNESSEE...
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL OR LARGER AND WINDS AT
LEAST 40 MPH WAS LOCATED 6 MILES SOUTH OF JACKS CREEK AT 412 PM
CDT...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.
PEOPLE IN CHESTER...HARDEMAN...MADISON AND MCNAIRY COUNTIES...
INCLUDING LOCATIONS NEAR CHICKASAW STATE FOREST...CHICKASAW STATE
PARK AND HENDERSON...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. THIS
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT ALSO INCLUDES PINE LAKE.
&&
LAT...LON 3514 8862 3516 8882 3542 8910 3543 8909
3543 8908 3546 8908 3568 8896 3542 8839
TIME...MOT...LOC 2112Z 301DEG 32KT 3536 8848PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
414 PM CDT THU AUG 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0300 PM TSTM WND DMG 4 W BELMONT 34.51N 88.28W
08/04/2011 TISHOMINGO MS AMATEUR RADIO
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN NEAR BELMONT CEMETARY ROAD AND
NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY.
0330 PM TSTM WND DMG SALTILLO 34.38N 88.69W
08/04/2011 LEE MS TRAINED SPOTTER
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ON FRONT AND PYLE STREETS IN
SALTILLO. ON CARTWRIGHT STREET...A TREE FELL ON A HOUSE.
UNKNOWN INJURIES AT THIS TIME.
&&
RRHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
429 PM CDT THU AUG 04 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0900 PM TSTM WND DMG COMO 36.29N 88.51W
08/03/2011 HENRY TN TRAINED SPOTTER
SEVERAL HUNDRED ACRES OF CORN FLATTENED NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS 190 AND 54 NEAR THE TOWN OF
COMO.
&&
RRHThe Memphis radar (KNQA), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:39 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Straight line winds knocked down a few trees in the southeast part of Hardeman County.
Straight line winds knocked down a couple of trees in Big Hill Pond State Park.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 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: 344261, 344277.