A cold front moved through West Tennessee during the evening of October 5th, 2013. One mini-supercell 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 through West Tennessee during the evening of October 5th, 2013. One mini-supercell developed out ahead of the front. The storm produced an brief tornado and damaging winds.
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 Oct 5, 1:54 PM CST, 3 hours 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 254 PM CDT SAT OCT 5 2013 .DISCUSSION... SKIES ARE PARTLY CLOUDY OVER MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND MOSTLY CLOUDY ELSEWHERE. TEMPERATURES THIS AFTERNOON ARE MAINLY IN THE 80S. SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING ACROSS PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI WHILE A MORE SOLID LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS BEGUN TO PUSH INTO EAST ARKANSAS. WHILE THERE ARE NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AT THIS TIME...AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WHICH IS MOVING INTO CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT THIS TIME. AS THE COLD FRONT ENTERS THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD OVER THE REGION. AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE MAINLY OVER NORTHEAST ARKANSAS WITH DAMAGING WINDS AS THE MAIN THREAT. AS THE FRONT MOVES CROSSES THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER COOLER AIR WILL START TO MOVE INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING INTO THE 50S IN THESE AREAS. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD BE MOVING OUT OF THE FORECAST AREA BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON SO THERE WILL STILL BE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AROUND SUNDAY WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN OVER EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. WITH THE COOLER AIR MOVING INTO MORE OF THE FORECAST AREA ON SUNDAY TEMPERATURES WILL BE MUCH COOLER THAN TODAY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S. BY SUNDAY NIGHT THE COLD FRONT WILL BE OUT OF THE REGION WITH A FEW EVENING SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVER EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. SKIES SHOULD CLEAR OVERNIGHT SUNDAY AND WITH LIGHT WINDS TEMPERATURES WILL BE QUITE COOL MONDAY MORNING WITH LOWS IN THE MID 40S TO AROUND 50 DEGREES. BY MONDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION AND REMAIN IN CONTROL OVER MUCH OF THE EASTERN U.S. FOR MUCH OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. AS A RESULT DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED FROM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY BUT THEN GRADUALLY WARM ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH MORE SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES RETURNING FOR FRIDAY AND NEXT SATURDAY. THE NEXT COLD FRONT WILL BE MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS ON SATURDAY SO AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM MAY MOVE INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF THE FRONT. ARS && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE (05/18Z-06/18Z) FOR THIS AFTERNOON...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO PREVAIL AT THE TAF SITES. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST AT KJBR...KMEM...AND KMKL AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE WEST...INCLUDED VCTS AT THESE SITES. KEPT OUT MENTION OF VCTS THIS AFTERNOON AT KTUP...BUT WILL MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS. WINDS S-SW 8-12 KTS. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH TONIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH KJBR AROUND 04Z...KMEM 07Z...KMKL 10Z...AND KTUP 13Z. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT WITH MVFR / IFR CONDITIONS. SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE BEHIND THE FRONT FOR SEVERAL HOURS WITH IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE. WINDS TURNING W-NW AT 6-8 KTS FOLLOWING THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. DRIER AIR WILL SPREAD INTO THE REGION FROM THE WEST SUNDAY WITH CONDITIONS IMPROVING TO VFR AT KJBR AROUND 06/11Z...KMEM 06/14Z...AND KMKL 06/17Z. JCL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 61 70 51 71 / 90 50 10 0 MKL 60 69 44 68 / 90 70 20 0 JBR 54 71 47 71 / 90 30 10 0 TUP 67 75 49 74 / 60 80 30 0 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1132 AM CDT SAT OCT 5 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>092-061845- 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- 1132 AM CDT SAT OCT 5 2013 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 RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT MAINLY WEST OF A WYNNE ARKANSAS TO TIPTONVILLE TENNESSEE LINE. THIS DOES INCLUDE THE CITY OF JONESBORO ARKANSAS. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:51 UTC.
1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado briefly touched down in an open field just west of the Obion River Bridge on Highway 51. No damage occurred.
Straight line winds knocked down several trees and power lines in South Fulton.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 2013Warnings in Tennessee, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 480244, 480245.