A slow moving cold front moved into the Mid-South during the morning hours of September 11th, 2014. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the front and kept redeveloping over the same area due to a low level jet that was over the area.
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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 slow moving cold front moved into the Mid-South during the morning hours of September 11th, 2014. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the front and kept redeveloping over the same area due to a low level jet that was over the area. Southwest Tennessee and Extreme Northwest Mississippi was hit the hardest. Widespread 5-6 inches of rain fell over this particular area with scattered locations receiving as much as 7-10 inches of rain. Widespread flash flooding occurred and many roads had to be closed due to high water. Small rivers and streams overflowed their banks and in some instances locations that normally do not flood in heavy rain events did flood.
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 11, 1:54 AM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 254 AM CDT THU SEP 11 2014 .DISCUSSION... APPROACHING COLD FRONT ACROSS NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND THE BOOTHEEL OF MISSOURI...WITH TRAINING THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND JUST AHEAD. RAINFALL AMOUNTS SEEN IN THE PAST 4 TO 5 HOURS HAVE BEEN AS HIGH AS 4 INCHES IN SOUTHEAST CLAY COUNTY. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE ARE ARE GENERALLY IN THE 70S...WITH A FEW LOW 80S IN THE MEMPHIS METRO. FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT...THE COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY TRACK SOUTHEAST TODAY...BRINGING PERIODS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA...TO INCLUDE THE RISK FOR HEAVY RAINFALL. THE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY IS NOT EXPECTED TO REACH PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI UNTIL THIS AFTERNOON...SO HAVE BUMPED UP HIGHS TO NEAR 90F THERE. FURTHER NORTH THE FRONT SHOULD MAKE IT TO THE I-40 CORRIDOR AROUND NOON...SO TEMPERATURES IN THIS ZONE SHOULD CLIMB A FEW DEGREES...REACHING THE LOW 80S. LONGEST TIME IN THE PRECIPITATION SHIELD WILL BE THE NORTH TODAY...AND WITH THAT TEMPERATURES SHOULD ONLY CLIMB TO THE MID 70S...ROUGHLY TEN DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO GET A BIGGER PUSH LATE TONIGHT TO NEAR THE I-20 CORRIDOR AS THE CURRENT SHORTWAVE IN WESTERN MONTANA SWINGS INTO THE DAKOTAS. FROM THIS THERE MAY BE A SMALL WINDOW OF DRY WEATHER/LIGHTER AMOUNTS OF RAIN THIS EVENING BEFORE THE INFLUENCE OF THE NEXT WAVE. MODELS INDICATE DEWPOINTS STAYING IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S OVERNIGHT...SO HAVE BUMPED UP FRIDAY MORNING LOWS A COUPLE OF DEGREES. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...COOL...CLOUDY...WITH RAIN CHANCES CONTINUING AS THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE CROSSES THE MIDWEST. FORECAST SOUNDINGS ON FRIDAY SHOW LINGERING BOUNDARY LAYER INSTABILITY ...SO A RISK FOR MORE THUNDER IS ANTICIPATED...ESPECIALLY INTO NORTH MISSISSIPPI WHERE NEAR SURFACED BASED CONVECTION REMAINS FAVORABLE. THE CANADIAN 1036MB HIGH CENTER WILL MOVE INTO KANSAS AND MISSOURI FRIDAY NIGHT PUSHING THE FRONT CLOSER TO THE GULF COAST. THE DEEPER POST FRONTAL AIRMASS WILL ENTER THE NORTHERN MIDSOUTH CHANGING THE SHOWERY NATURE OF THE PRECIPITATION TO MORE STABLE/STRATIFORM RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...PATCHY DRIZZLE AND FOG ARE PROBABLE. THIS ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE INTO MIDDAY SATURDAY OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA...WITH DRIER AIR FINALLY BEGINNING TO CLEAR THINGS ACROSS THE NORTH. UNFORTUNATELY IT APPEARS NORTH MISSISSIPPI WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY SIGNIFICANT CLOUD CLEARING UNTIL SATURDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THIS PERIOD WILL START OFF DRY AND PLEASANT. HOWEVER A SECOND COLD FRONT...FORECASTED TO BE WEAKER...WILL BRING INCREASING CLOUDS AND RAIN CHANCES LATE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THERE ARE SLIGHT DIFFERENCES IN TIMING AND INTENSITY BETWEEN THE ECMWF AND THE GFS. TEMPERATURES APPEAR SEASONAL WITH HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 80S...AND LOWS IN THE 60S. JAB && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY MOVE INTO THE MID SOUTH ON THURSDAY WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING AND MOVING ALONG THIS FRONT. ACTIVITY HAS BEEN DELAYED THUS FAR BUT NOW BEGINNING TO ENTER JBR...MEM AROUND 11/08Z...MKL AROUND 11/09Z...AND NOT UNTIL 11/17Z AT TUP. VFR CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TO DETERIORATE TO MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS WITH THIS FRONT AND IMPROVE BACK TOWARDS VFR CONDITIONS TOWARDS THURSDAY AFTERNOON. MVFR CONDITIONS MAY REDEVELOP AT MKL/TUP THURSDAY EVENING. S/SW WINDS WILL VEER NW/N WITH PASSAGE OF THIS COLD FRONT BETWEEN 6-10 KTS. CJC && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 303 AM CDT THU SEP 11 2014 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-121015- ALCORN-BENTON MS-BENTON TN-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- 303 AM CDT THU SEP 11 2014 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 ALONG A COLD FRONT TODAY SOUTH OF A JONESBORO ARKANSAS TO A DRESDEN TENNESSEE LINE. STRONG WIND GUSTS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. JAB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding near Chisholm Lake. As a result, Chisholm Lake Road and the bridge near the lake were impassable due to high water.
Showers and thunderstorms trained over Southern Tipton County for several hours including the cities of Covington, Brighton, and Atoka. Widespread 4-5 inches of rain fell over this particular area. Numerous roads were closed due to flash flooding including Jack Bennett Road and Brighton Road.
Showers and thunderstorms trained over Shelby County for several hours. At first, the heavy rain fell from Millington, to Bartlett, to Arlington. Widepread 4 to 6 inches fell across this northern corridor with isolated 7-8 inches in a few locations. Some locations picked up 1.75 to 2 inches of rain in a 1 hour and 15 minute time frame. Several homes near Millington were flooded from high water. Water rescues were needed in Mount Terrace for rescuing residents trapped in flooded homes. Numerous streets were closed some of which that had never been closed before due to heavy rain including Bartlett Boulevard and Stage Road in Bartlett. The corridor of the heavy rain shifted southward to Southern Shelby County by 8 am CDT as the cold front sagged south and stalled. Heavy rain fell from Whitehaven, to Germantown, to Collierville. Rainfall amounts ranged from 4 to 7 inches. The heavy rain produced a 20 ft hole in the roof of the Southland Mall near Whitehaven. Again, numerous streets and roads were closed in this corridor as well. In total, 74 homes sustained minor damage from flooding with one apartment complex that contained 31 units. One road also sustained damage. In addition, one business sustained minor damage from flooding as well.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, September 2014
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: 542742, 542743, 542745.