A mesoscale convective system developed over Southern Missouri and Western Kentucky during the early morning hours of August 3, 2013. This complex moved south into Northwest Tennessee and dropped several inches of rain resulting in isolated flash flooding.
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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 mesoscale convective system developed over Southern Missouri and Western Kentucky during the early morning hours of August 3, 2013. This complex moved south into Northwest Tennessee and dropped several inches of rain resulting in isolated flash flooding.
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 3, 5:04 AM CST, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 604 AM CDT SAT AUG 3 2013 .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 439 AM CDT SAT AUG 3 2013/ UPPER LEVEL NORTHWEST FLOW TO CONTINUE OVER THE MIDSOUTH THROUGH LATE TUESDAY. PRIMARY FORECAST CHALLENGE REMAINS TIMING AND LOCATION OF EMBEDDED SHORTWAVES AND RESULTING MCS...OR MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS. EARLY MORNING GOES IR IMAGERY AND AREA RADARS SHOWED A WELL ORGANIZED MCS OVER SOUTHERN MO...WITH EASTWARD DEVELOPMENT INTO WEST WESTERN KY. CLOUD TOP TEMPS OVER SOUTHERN MO WERE AS COLD AS MINUS 84C. THIS MCS HAD FORMED ON THE NOSE OF A LOW LEVEL THETA E RIDGE...AIDED IN PART BY SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE MID/UPPER 70S. NAM MODEL PROGS PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR 2.4 INCHES OVER THE OZARK PLATEAU. 850MB/500MB THICKNESS FIELDS INDICATE A SOUTHEASTWARD DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL INTO THE MIDSOUTH THROUGH THIS MORNING...WHICH WOULD ALSO CORRELATE WITH MIDLEVEL STEERING FLOW. CONCURRENTLY...THE NAM LIFTS THE MOISTURE PLUME EASTWARD THROUGH MIDDAY...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR 2.4 INCHES PROGGED OVER THE MIDSOUTH THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT WILL SEE A BACKDOOR FRONT EDGE INTO WEST TN...ADVECTING IN DRIER AIR FROM THE OHIO VALLEY. MUCH WILL DEPEND ON CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION THROUGH THE DAY... BUT IT APPEARS THE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL WILL SHIFT SOUTHWARD TO NORTH MS/EAST CENTRAL AR...NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SUNDAY/S RAIN CHANCES WERE REDUCED FOR THIS MORNING/S FORECAST PACKAGE...WITH MAIN FOCUS NEAR THE EXPECTED POSITION OF THE STALLED FRONT SOUTH AND WEST OF MEMPHIS. PER ECMWF AND GFS MODELS... THIS FRONT WILL LIFT NORTH THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH MONDAY... RETURNING GULF MOISTURE. THE ECMWF IS MORE PRONOUNCED WITH THE DEVELOPING RETURN FLOW AND QPF. HAVE LEANED A BIT TOWARD THE WETTER ECMWF SOLUTION FOR MONDAY. UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL BECOME ZONAL BY LATE TUESDAY...AS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS UPPER RIDGE EDGES EASTWARD. 00Z ECMWF AND GFS ARE LESS PERSISTENT WITH THE RIDGE...DROPPING IT FROM TEXAS AND THE SOUTHERN GULF STATES BY THURSDAY. THIS WILL PLACE THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE MIDSOUTH IN PROXIMITY TO STRONGER WESTERLIES ALONG THE UPPER RIDGE/S PERIMETER DURING THE MID TO LATE WEEK. THE ECMWF DROPS A SURFACE COLD FRONT TO THE I40 CORRIDOR THURSDAY... BEFORE DROPPING IT FURTHER FRIDAY IN RESPONSE TO A RETURN TO NORTHWESTERLY UPPER LEVEL FLOW. HAVE GONE A LITTLE COOLER ON THE THE MID TO LATE WEEK EXTENDED PERIODS FOR AREAS NORTH OF I40. RAIN CHANCES WILL ALSO LINGER...PARTICULARLY TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE MEMPHIS METRO AREA. PWB && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF SET AN MCS CONTINUES TO PUSH SOUTHEAST TOWARDS NE ARKANSAS. EXPECT THE MCS TO SPREAD OVER E ARKANSAS...THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND WEST TENNESSEE BETWEEN 12-18Z. THE MCS WILL GRADUALLY DIE OUT AS THE MORNING PROGRESSES. BEST CHANCES FOR TSRA WILL OCCUR AT KJBR. WILL ONLY MENTION A TEMPO FOR SHRAS AT KMEM. MCS MAY BRING TEMPORARY MVFR CIGS/VSBYS TO KJBR AND KMEM. EXPECT CIGS AND VSBYS TO REMAIN VFR AT KMKL. KTUP FCST A BIT TRICKY FOR THIS AFTERNOON. EITHER KTUP WILL BE AFFECTED BY -RA FROM DIMINISHING MCS OR REDEVELOPMENT OF TSRAS COULD DEVELOP OUT AHEAD OF THE DYING MCS ALONG OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. FOR NOW WILL CONTINUE MENTION OF VCTS. AFTER 01Z...EXPECT ACTIVITY TO DISSIPATE. LIGHT SW WINDS WILL TURN AROUND TO NW AND EVENTUALLY TO THE NE. SPEEDS WILL BE BETWEEN 5-10 KTS. KRM && && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 91 74 92 70 / 40 20 30 30 MKL 90 69 87 63 / 30 20 20 20 JBR 89 70 88 68 / 50 20 40 40 TUP 91 73 93 68 / 30 20 20 20 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 342 AM CDT SAT AUG 3 2013 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-041045- 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- 342 AM CDT SAT AUG 3 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND STRONG WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND STRONG WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. PWB
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:10 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding near Martin. The intersection of Hamm Road and Hyndsver Road was flooded.
Several inches of rain produced flash flooding in South Fulton. Several residences had to be evacuated due to rising water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, August 2013
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: 473762, 473778.