Below normal rainfall continued during the month of June across West Tennessee. As a result, severe (D2) drought conditions expanded across Northwest Tennessee and extreme West Tennessee by the end of June.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Below normal rainfall continued during the month of June across West Tennessee. As a result, severe (D2) drought conditions expanded across Northwest Tennessee and extreme West Tennessee by the end of June. In addition, drought conditions intensified to extreme (D3) conditions across extreme Northwest Tennessee. Many crops that were planted during the spring struggled to grow due to lack of water. Irreversible damage was done to the corn crop while soybean and sorghum fields yield potential continued to dwindle as a result of the dry conditions. Many pastures were in poor condition forcing farmers to feed cattle baled hay. Lake and river levels dropped to low levels. Burn bans were issued for many counties as a result of the dry conditions.
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 Jun 26, 5:18 AM CST, 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 618 AM CDT TUE JUN 26 2012 .UPDATE... UPDATED TO INCLUDE 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION BELOW. JCL && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 320 AM CDT TUE JUN 26 2012/ CURRENTLY TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH WERE RUNNING ANYWHERE FROM TWO TO SIX DEGREES WARMER THEN 24 HOURS AGO. THIS WAS IN DESPITE OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE LATE YESTERDAY. THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE THIS PAST HOUR WAS MEMPHIS AT 83 DEGREES. DRIER DEWPOINTS HOWEVER WERE STARTING TO PUSH INTO NORTHWEST TENNESSEE AND THE BOOTHEEL OF MISSOURI. WINDS OVER THE AREA WERE NORTHEAST AT 5 TO 10 KTS...WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS IN NE ARKANSAS. SHORT TERM THROUGH WEDNESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING DRY WEATHER TO THE REGION WITH NORTHEAST BREEZES. TEMPERATURES WILL HOVER CLOSE TO AVERAGE TODAY AND A THREE TO FIVE DEGREES WARMER ON WEDNESDAY. WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOW 90S...AND DEWPOINTS FALLING INTO THE 50S...AFTERNOON RH'S WILL FALL INTO THE 25 TO 30 PERCENT RANGE. AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER APPEARS LIKELY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AS 10HR FUEL MOISTURE WILL RANGE FROM 5 TO 8 PERCENT. FORTUNATELY THE 20FT WINDS WILL REMAIN BELOW RED FLAG CRITERIA IN ALL AREAS. LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL DROP INTO THE 50S TO LOW 60S ACROSS MOST OF THE REGION WHICH WILL IN TURN KEEP THE AREA BELOW THE CENTURY MARK ON WEDNESDAY. THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY...HAVE LEANED TOWARDS A NAM AND ECMWF BLEND WITH THE UPPER LEVEL HEIGHTS BUILDING OVER THE AREA AND HOTTER TEMPERATURES...AS THE GFS CONTINUES TO BE THE COOLER OUTLIER SOLUTION. 500MB HEIGHTS WILL EXCEED 590DM THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH TEMPERATURES LIKELY BREACHING THE CENTURY MARK EACH DAY...WHICH WILL TIE OR BREAK RECORDS...ESPECIALLY FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THE ALL TIME HIGH FOR MEMPHIS IN JUNE IS 104F SET BACK IN 1952 AND 1954...WILL THIS YEAR SURPASS THAT? DEWPOINTS WILL ALSO BE ON THE RISE AS THE BOUNDARY LAYER FLOW TURNS SOUTHWESTERLY. MODELS ARE ATTEMPTING FOR WIDESPREAD 70+ READINGS BY FRIDAY...HOWEVER WITH THE STRENGTH OF SUBSIDENCE...DECREASING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION...AND SUFFICIENT MIXING UP TO 700MB FEEL THAT DEWPOINTS WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN THE MID AND UPPER 60S. WITH THAT SAID...AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES WILL STILL CLIMB INTO THE 105F TO 110F HEAT ADVISORY RANGE. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO THE OHIO VALLEY LATE SUNDAY AND STALL THERE ON MONDAY. THIS MAY BRING A STRAY SHOWER OR STORM TO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE MIDSOUTH...HOWEVER WITH THE RIDGE HOLDING FAST THIS SCENARIO MAY EASILY CHANGE BY LATER THIS WEEK SO HAVE LEFT POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST AND KEPT TEMPERATURES NEAR 100F. JAB && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE (26/12Z-27/12Z) VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH CLEAR SKIES AND UNRESTRICTED VISIBILITIES. WINDS TODAY NE AROUND 12 KTS WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 18-20 KTS. AFTER 27/02Z WINDS DIMINISHING TO NE-E 3-7 KTS. JCL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 91 66 97 72 / 0 0 0 0 MKL 90 56 96 64 / 0 0 0 0 JBR 90 61 96 67 / 0 0 0 0 TUP 92 61 96 66 / 0 0 0 0 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 327 AM CDT TUE JUN 26 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>092-271030- 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- 327 AM CDT TUE JUN 26 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES AND LOW FUEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER ACROSS THE MID SOUTH THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL BUILD OVER THE MID SOUTH LATER THIS WEEK. VERY HOT TEMPERATURES EXCEEDING 100 DEGREES...COMBINED WITH ELEVATED HUMIDITY...WILL LIKELY RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES ABOVE HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA OF 105 DEGREES STARTING AS EARLY AS THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. JAB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) drought conditions began across the county.
Severe (D2) drought conditions began across the county.
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, June 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: 394902, 394903.