Hail, Tallahatchie
- When
- May 21, 6:00 AM CST to 6:05 AM CST
- Where
- Tallahatchie County, 2.58 mi SSE of Leverett
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 33.846, -90.053
Penny size hail fell southwest of Cascilla.
Hail in Mississippi, May 21, 2012
A cold front moved into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of May 21st, 2012. A few showers and thunderstorms developed along the front.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
A cold front moved into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of May 21st, 2012. A few showers and thunderstorms developed along the front. Some storms became severe and produced large hail.
What forecasters said that day
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 May 21, 5:26 AM CST, 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 21, 5:26 AM CST, 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 626 AM CDT MON MAY 21 2012 .UPDATE... UPDATED FOR 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 405 AM CDT MON MAY 21 2012/ DISCUSSION... CURRENTLY...A COLD FRONT STRETCHES FROM SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI INTO ARKANSAS THIS MORNING. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE PUSHED WELL AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND COVER NORTH MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHEAST PARTS OF WEST TENNESSEE. TEMPS ARE GENERALLY IN THE 60S WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 60S AND WINDS ARE LIGHT AND VARIABLE THIS MORNING. TODAY AND TONIGHT...THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY. THE CURRENT CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO MOVE OFF TO THE EAST AND WEAKEN. HOWEVER EXPECT REDEVELOPMENT TO OCCUR GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-40 THIS AFTERNOON AS SURFACE HEATING COMBINES WITH AN APPROACHING MID LEVEL TROF TO PRODUCE SBCAPES GREATER THAN 1500 J/KG AND LIFTED INDEX VALUES OF -4C TO -6C ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE MIDSOUTH. WINDS ALOFT CONTINUE TO BE QUITE WEAK SO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER CONTINUES TO LOOK UNLIKELY. A FEW STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AND A ISOLATED SEVERE STORM CANNOT BE RULED OUT. DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN THREAT AND SMALL HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. PRECIP CHANCES WILL DIMINISH FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING WITH SKIES BEGINNING TO CLEAR OUT. COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL FILTER IN TONIGHT AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE REGION AND LOWS WILL DROP INTO THE 50S AT MANY PLACES. TUESDAY...THE MID LEVEL TROF WILL CUT OFF OVER EAST TENNESSEE ON TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT RESULTING IN A PERFECT DAY ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. COOL NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PRODUCE HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE AND LOW HUMIDITIES. TUESDAY NIGHT WILL FALL INTO THE 50S UNDER CLEAR SKIES. WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THE UPPER LOW OVER THE APPALACHIANS WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD OVER THE MIDSOUTH. AS A RESULT EXPECT MUCH WARMER CONDITIONS BY THE WEEKEND. HIGH TEMPS WILL CLIMB EACH DAY REACHING THE MID 90S BY THE WEEKEND. HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL START TO CREEP UP AS WELL AS DEWPOINTS MOVE INTO THE MID 60S. SJM && .AVIATION... 12Z TAFS SHOWERS AND AN OCCASIONAL THUNDERSTORM AT TAF TIME WAS CONCENTRATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. THIS ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN THIS MORNING THEN REFIRE UP BY 18Z. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THIS TAF PERIOD WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A TEMPO MVFR VIS AT TUP...WHERE A THUNDERSTORM WILL BE MOST POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE...VCSH AT JBR AND A TEMPO FOR A LIGHT SHOWER AT MEM AND MKL. WINDS WILL BE NORTHWEST TO NORTH AT 4-7 KTS INCREASING TO 8-10KTS WITH SOME GUSTS AT JBR THIS AFTERNOON. DRIER AIR WILL MOVE IN FROM THE NORTH LATER IN THE PERIOD WITH CLEARING SKIES AND DIMINISHING WINDS. JAB && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 82 60 79 58 / 40 10 10 0 MKL 81 54 78 51 / 40 10 10 0 JBR 80 54 79 54 / 20 10 10 0 TUP 85 60 80 54 / 50 20 10 0 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 21, 3:08 AM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 408 AM CDT MON MAY 21 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>092-221115- 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- 408 AM CDT MON MAY 21 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH TODAY. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS TO PERHAPS AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ARE POSSIBLE ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 60 MPH IS THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT REACHES SEVERE LIMITS. SMALL HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. .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 radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 159 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:01 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Ohio, May 21, 2012
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, May 21 to 24, 2012
- Flash Flood and Hail in North Carolina, May 21, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New Mexico, May 21, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 21 to 22, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 21, 2012
- Hail in Arkansas, May 21, 2012
- Hail in Nebraska, May 21, 2012
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 21, 2012
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Kentucky, May 21, 2012
- Hail in Alabama, May 21, 2012
- Hail in Alabama, May 21, 2012
More
Every storm in Mississippi in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, May 2012
Sources
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: 381123.