A dust devil developed in a field in Weakley County and caused some damage near Dresden.
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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 dust devil developed in a field in Weakley County and caused some damage near Dresden.
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 12, 11:12 AM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1212 PM CDT SUN AUG 12 2012 .UPDATE... UPDATED TO INCLUDE 18Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. JCL && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1008 AM CDT SUN AUG 12 2012/ SKIES ARE MOSTLY SUNNY OVER MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING BUT CLOUDS ARE STARTING TO INCREASE OVER WESTERN SECTIONS. TEMPERATURES CURRENTLY RANGE FROM THE MID 70S TO LOWER 80S. COLD FRONT CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM EASTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH CENTRAL KANSAS AND INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THE FROM ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MISSOURI AND SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. MOST OF THIS RAIN SHOULD REMAIN WEST OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD SO NO UPDATES ARE NEEDED AT THIS TIME. ARS PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 628 AM CDT SUN AUG 12 2012/ SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE MID SOUTH THIS MORNING WILL SHIFT EASTWARD THROUGH THE DAY. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN ONE MORE PLEASANT WEATHER DAY WITH DRY CONDITIONS AND NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ALONG WITH SEASONABLY LOW HUMIDITY VALUES. A ROBUST MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE NOTED ON THE LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL APPROACH THE MID SOUTH AND MOVE ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES EAST...RETURN SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED TONIGHT AND ALLOW FOR A QUICK RETURN OF RICH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. THIS MOISTURE RETURN WILL BE AIDED BY A STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET STREAK (LLJ) THAT WILL DEVELOP TO OUR WEST TONIGHT AND SHIFT EASTWARD ON MONDAY. INCREASING ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LLJ WILL SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LATER TONIGHT TO THE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER...MOST LIKELY STRETCHING FROM THE ARKLATEX INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI. HAVE MAINTAINED SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS TONIGHT OVER PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND EASTERN ARKANSAS...MOST LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT. AS THE SHORTWAVE MOVES SOUTHEAST IT WILL HELP TO STRENGTHEN SURFACE LOW PRESSURE THAT WILL MOVE FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS TODAY INTO THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND MIDWEST STATES THROUGH MONDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL EXTEND SOUTHWESTWARD FROM THE SURFACE LOW BACK INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS LATER TONIGHT. THIS FRONT SHOULD MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE MID SOUTH MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD FORM ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS WEAK HEIGHT FALLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE OVERSPREAD THE FORECAST AREA ON MONDAY. INCREASING DEEP LAYER SHEAR EXCEEDING 30 KTS COMBINED WITH MODERATE INSTABILITY SHOULD SUPPORT THE POTENTIAL FOR MULTICELL CLUSTERS AND POTENTIALLY A FEW SUPERCELLS. A FEW SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD PUSH SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING BEFORE STALLING OUT. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD BACK OVER THE AREA FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH A RETURN TO DRY AND SLIGHTLY COOLER WEATHER. ANOTHER WEAK MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE WILL APPROACH THE REGION IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ON WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. MOISTURE WILL BE DRAWN NORTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA AND WILL BE LIFTED OVER THE STALLED FRONT TO THE SOUTH. THIS MAY RESULT IN ISOLATED MAINLY ELEVATED CONVECTION. THE BULK OF THIS ACTIVITY MAY REMAIN SOUTH OF OUR FORECAST AREA. THE FRONT SHOULD FINALLY LIFT BACK NORTH ACROSS THE REGION AS A WARM FRONT ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT AS ANOTHER MORE SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVE APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. THIS WILL RESULT IN INCREASED CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE STRONGER SHORTWAVE WILL CONTINUE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA BY FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT AND WILL FORCE A STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS THE AREA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. BEHIND THE FRONT...CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FOR NEXT WEEKEND BRINGING A RETURN TO DRY AND MUCH COOLER WEATHER FOR THE END OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD. JLH && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE (12/18Z-13/18Z) VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST BY LATE TONIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING INTO THE REGION...MENTIONED VCSH / VCTS FOR NOW. WINDS THIS AFTERNOON MOSTLY S-SW AT 4-9 KTS. WINDS DECREASING SLIGHTLY IN MOST PLACES THIS EVENING...THEN GRADUALLY INCREASING BY LATE TONIGHT BECOMING SW 7-12 KTS MONDAY MORNING. JCL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 72 92 71 89 / 10 40 20 10 MKL 64 90 66 87 / 10 40 30 10 JBR 70 90 67 88 / 30 30 10 10 TUP 65 91 71 90 / 10 30 30 10 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 414 AM CDT SUN AUG 12 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>092-131115- 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- 414 AM CDT SUN AUG 12 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MID SOUTH MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE AN ENHANCED RISK FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS THAT DEVELOP. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. JLH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
A dust devil began in a bean field and moved northwest to southeast. It tore apart a fiberglass well housing. The dust devil picked up a metal burn barrel and spread the contents several hundred feet into the air. Part of a roof was also torn off. Some of the debris damaged a brand new car.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 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: 410308.