A cold front moved in the West Tennessee during the afternoon and early evening hours of September 2nd, 2013. A few storms became severe producing large hail and flash flooding.
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 in the West Tennessee during the afternoon and early evening hours of September 2nd, 2013. A few storms became severe producing large hail and 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 Sep 2, 1:43 PM CST, 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 243 PM CDT MON SEP 2 2013 .DISCUSSION... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH AND WILL LIKELY INTERRUPT MANY AFTERNOON LABOR DAY PLANS. HOWEVER...I WOUND NOT CANCEL PLANS ALL TOGETHER...STORMS SHOULD NOT LAST MORE THAN 30-45 MIN'S. SECURE ANY LAWN FURNITURE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE LIGHTNING AND RESUME THE FESTIVITIES AFTER STORMS PASS. A COLD FRONT IS MOVING INTO THE MIDSOUTH. AT 2:00 PM IT WAS LOCATED GENERALLY ALONG A LINE FROM PARIS TENNESSEE TO NEAR INTERSTATE 40 IN EAST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. TO THE SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN LIKELY WITH A DRIER COOLER AIRMASS WORKING INTO TO THE MIDSOUTH TO ITS NORTH AND WEST. WINDS WILL SHIFT FROM THE NORTH BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT THE DRIER AIR WILL TAKE SEVERAL MORE HOURS TO ARRIVE. CURRENTLY...DEW POINTS ARE STILL IN THE LOW 70S ACROSS MOST OF NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...BUT LOW 60S...EVEN UPPER 50S ARE NOT FAR AWAY IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHWESTERN MISSOURI. ONGOING CONVECTION MAINLY ACROSS WEST TENNESSEE...WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE...AS THEY MOVE TO THE EAST TO SOUTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THEY ARE DEVELOPING IN A HIGH INSTABILITY...LOW SHEAR ENVIRONMENT FEATURING CAPE'S APPROACHING 3000 AND LI'S IN THE -3 TO -6 RANGE. EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR IS LESS THAN 25 KTS. NEGATIVE 10C DEGREE LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY AROUND 20-21K FT WITH -20C AROUND 25K FT. THE LIKELIHOOD OF HAIL IS FAIRLY LOW...BUT CERTAINLY CANNOT BE RULED OUT. THE MAIN THREAT FROM ANY STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE LOCALIZED DAMAGING WIND. HOWEVER...EVEN THOUGH LIGHTNING IS NOT A SEVERE WEATHER PARAMETER FOR WARNING PURPOSES...THAT IS TRULY THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS...ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ONGOING TODAY. KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY. STORMS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT...BUT LIKELY BECOME CONFINED TO NORTH MISSISSIPPI BY MIDNIGHT. FLOODING IS ALSO A CONCERN...RAINFALL RATES IN EXCESS OF 2.5 INCHES PER HOUR AND TRAINING THUNDERSTORMS COULD RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING PROBLEMS. SEVERAL FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED IN WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI. TOMORROW...THAT COOLER DRIER AIRMASS WILL BE EVIDENT. NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES...OR HIGHS GENERALLY IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER 80S ARE EXPECTED...BUT DEW POINTS WILL BE IN THE LOW TO MIDDLE 60S INSTEAD OF THE LOW 70S RESULTING IN MUCH MORE PLEASANT CONDITIONS. NO RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TOMORROW TROUGH THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. TEMPERATURES WILL BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL AS A RIDGE ALOFT DOMINATES OUR WEATHER PATTERN. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE THUNDERSTORMS NOW DEVELOPING IN ASSOCIATION WITH FRONT FROM AROUND LITTLE ROCK TO JONESBORO TO WEAKLEY COUNTY. OTHERS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG I-40 BETWEEN MEMPHIS AND FOREST CITY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL DEVELOPING OVER PARTS OF NORTH MISSISSIPPI. ACTVITY SHOULD ALL MOVE SOUTH OUT OF THE AREA THIS EVENING AHEAD OF THE FRONT. WINDS WILL VEER MORE TO THE NORTHWEST AND EVENTUALLY BECOME NORTHEASTERLY TONIGHT. SOME FOG MKL AND TUP TOWARD DAYBREAK TUESDAY. WER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 71 88 68 89 / 20 0 10 10 MKL 64 85 58 86 / 10 0 10 10 JBR 66 86 62 88 / 10 0 10 10 TUP 70 89 66 90 / 40 10 10 10 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 145 PM CDT MON SEP 2 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>092-032045- 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- 145 PM CDT MON SEP 2 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 A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY ACROSS MOST OF THE MIDSOUTH...BUT MOST LIKELY MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. THE PRIMARY THREATS WILL BE STRONG WIND GUSTS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... FORMAL SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME...BUT SPOTTERS AND LOCAL COUNTY OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT STRONG WINDS AND ANY ASSOCIATED LOCALIZED WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS.
The Ft Campbell radar (KHPX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:57 UTC.
2 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding across portions of Decatur County. Many low water crossings were flooded including ones on Concord Road, Bible Hill Road, and Hog Creek Road. Maxwell Street in Parsons was also flooded.
Nickel size hail was reported near the intersection of Highway 100 and Highway 22, southwest of Reagan.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding in Jacks Creek. A couple of roads had six to seven inches of water covering them.
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, September 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: 474690, 474697, 474696.