A cold front moved into North Mississippi during the late afternoon and evening hours of February 1, 2012. Showers and thunderstorms developed out ahead of the front.
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.
A cold front moved into North Mississippi during the late afternoon and evening hours of February 1, 2012. Showers and thunderstorms developed out ahead of the front. Some of these storms became severe producing damaging winds, large hail and an isolated tornado.
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 1, 3:20 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 320 PM CST WED FEB 1 2012 .DISCUSSION... CLOUDS HAVE SCATTERED OUT RATHER WELL EARLY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS MUCH OF THE MIDSOUTH. THIS HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO REACH 70+ DEGREES ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW 60S ALONG EAST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AND THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA REGION. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS CENTRAL ARKANSAS BASICALLY ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY. THIS BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ITS WAY TO THE EAST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING TAPPING INTO A MODERATELY UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT. THIS WILL COINCIDE WITH THE PASSING OF A WEAK H5 SHORTWAVE AND RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. MODEL SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO DEPICT MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AROUND 8 C/KM OVER THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA THIS EVENING AND NEARLY UNI-DIRECTIONAL SHEAR. THIS COULD YIELD A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREATS. RIDGING AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT WILL QUICKLY FILL IN BEHIND THE PASSING SYSTEM OVERNIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. SOME PATCHY FOG WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT ACROSS MAINLY NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI WHERE REMAINING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND LIGHTER WINDS MAY YIELD FOG. OTHERWISE THURSDAY SHOULD BE DRY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES AROUND 70 ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE WASHED OUT FRONTAL BOUNDARY. FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...ANOTHER BROAD H5 TROUGH OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WILL BEGIN TO SLIDE EAST AND INTO THE GREAT PLAINS. CONCURRENTLY...THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW WILL TRACK NORTHEAST INTO CENTRAL MISSOURI. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO PUSH INTO THE MIDSOUTH FRIDAY MORNING AND BECOME MORE NUMEROUS FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY AS A WARM FRONT TRIES TO SURGE NORTH. MODELS ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT WITH THIS SYSTEM WITH REGARD TO TIMING AND INTENSITY. PROXIMITY OF THE BEST UPPER DYNAMICS AND THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF THE WARM SECTOR ARE THE TWO MAIN LIMITING FACTORS WITH REGARD TO SEVERE POTENTIAL. FROM THIS POINT ON THE MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE. SUNDAY THROUGH MIDWEEK NEXT WEEK THE GFS SWEEPS THE SURFACE LOW OFF THE EAST COAST ABSORBING IT INTO THE MEAN UPPER FLOW. THIS ALLOWS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE...DRY CONDITIONS...AND MORE NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO FILTER ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. THE ECMWF HOWEVER TRIES TO OCCLUDE THE SURFACE LOW ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY ESSENTIALLY STALLING THE COLD FRONT ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH...THUS KEEPING PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR THE AREA THROUGH MONDAY. TRENDED WITH NEIGHBORING OFFICES THROUGH THIS TIME FRAME AWAITING BETTER LONG TERM MODEL AGREEMENT. CCD && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE MVFR/VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT TAF SITES THIS AFTERNOON AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE MID SOUTH AND MOVES THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. SOME DESTABILIZATION WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. THUS...WILL KEEP CB/VCTS MENTION IN TAFS THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING. AS THE FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT. MVFR CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED TO RETURN TONIGHT WITH IMPROVEMENT TO VFR CONDITIONS THURSDAY MORNING AS NORTHEAST WINDS INCREASE TO AROUND 7 KTS AND SKIES GRADUALLY CLEAR. CJC && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 51 67 51 67 / 20 10 10 70 MKL 45 67 43 66 / 20 0 10 70 JBR 45 63 44 58 / 10 0 10 70 TUP 52 70 48 67 / 30 10 10 70 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 349 PM CST WED FEB 1 2012 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-030000- 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- 349 PM CST WED FEB 1 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ROUGHLY ALONG AND SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM WYNNE ARKANSAS TO MEMPHIS TO CHARLESTON MISSISSIPPI. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG STORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE AGAIN SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND AGAIN SATURDAY. CCD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
420 PM CST WED FEB 1 2012
ARZ049-058-MSZ007-012245-
LEE AR-PHILLIPS AR-TUNICA MS-
420 PM CST WED FEB 1 2012
...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 445 PM CST FOR...
LEE COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS...
NORTHEASTERN PHILLIPS COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS...
WEST CENTRAL TUNICA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI...
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING WINDS AT LEAST 40 MPH WAS LOCATED 3
MILES SOUTH OF MORO AT 420 PM CST...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.
VERY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.
PEOPLE IN LEE...PHILLIPS AND TUNICA COUNTIES...INCLUDING LOCATIONS
NEAR MARIANNA...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY.
.A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ADVISORY
AREA.
&&
LAT...LON 3487 9102 3484 9046 3461 9059 3469 9106
3472 9106
TIME...MOT...LOC 2220Z 280DEG 33KT 3475 9094The Memphis radar (KNQA), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:44 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Straight line winds knocked down trees in Friars Point. A shed was also destroyed.
Straight line winds knocked a tree down on Reno Street in Clarksdale. In addition, a couple other trees were knocked down in a mobile home park.
Straight line winds knocked down trees in Dundee.
Nickel size hail fell near Hacks Cross Road and U.S. Highway 78 in Olive Branch.
Straight line winds knocked a few trees and power lines down on County Road 158, west of Oxford.
Straight line winds knocked down some trees and power lines near Taylor.
Straight line winds knocked down several trees down along Highway 345 from near Cherry Creek to 1 mile south of Cherry Creek.
Straight line winds damaged and blew off an awning from a gas station along Highway 145 northwest of Aberdeen.
Straight line winds knocked down several trees across Highway 25 near Becker.
Straight line winds knocked down power lines between Athens and Quincy.
A tornado briefly touched down along Sipsey-Detroit Road near Sipsey Fork, just west of the Mississippi-Alabama Border. The tornado moved northeast for approximately 200 yards. A single family home sustained minor damage which included the collapse of a carport. An awning of a mobile home was blown off. The mobile home also sustained damage from a shed that was lifted up by the tornado and thrown into the mobile home. The shed was destroyed as well as a nearby chicken coop. Several cedar trees were blown over or snapped.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Mississippi, 2012Warnings in Mississippi, February 2012
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: 365049, 365050, 365051, 365057, 365053, 365055, 365060, 365058, 365061, 365062, 365063, 365064, 365066.