A couple of upper level disturbances moved across the Mid-South and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass to produce scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on August 22, 2015. A couple of severe storms produced damaging winds and large hail in Panola County.
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 couple of upper level disturbances moved across the Mid-South and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass to produce scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on August 22, 2015. A couple of severe storms produced damaging winds and large hail in Panola County.
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 22, 5:23 PM CST, 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 623 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015 .UPDATE... UPDATED FOR 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION... && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 335 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015/ DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR SATELLITE/WSR-88D PROFILE TRENDS INDICATE A COUPLE OF MID LEVEL SHORTWAVES ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. THE FIRST SHORTWAVE IS LOCATED ACROSS PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE AND MISSISSIPPI AND THE SECOND SHORTWAVE IS OVER WESTERN ARKANSAS. REGIONAL WSR-88D RADAR TRENDS INDICATE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST TENNESSEE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS AT BEST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE MID SOUTH. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WESTERN SHORTWAVE IS LOCATED OVER WESTERN ARKANSAS. AS OF 3 PM CDT...TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE MID SOUTH ARE PREDOMINANTLY IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S WITH MIDDLE 80S OCCURRING GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF TUPELO. LATEST SHORT TERM MODEL TRENDS INDICATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY OVER WESTERN ARKANSAS WILL GRADUALLY MOVE EAST INTO THE MID SOUTH THIS EVENING. A COUPLE OF STRONG TO PERHAPS ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING WITH WIND BEING THE PREDOMINANT STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT ALONG WITH A POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY LOCATED ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO SUNDAY NIGHT WITH A POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. OVERALL FORCING AND MOISTURE ARE LESS THAN IDEAL WITH THIS FRONT AND HAVE KEPT RAIN CHANCES SCATTERED AT BEST. FAVORABLE INSTABILITY COMBINED WITH WEAK SHEAR OVERALL SUGGESTS CONVECTIVE MODE MAY LEAN TOWARDS RATHER DISORGANIZED PULSE TYPE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. A FEW STRONG TO PERHAPS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY NIGHT WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL AS THE PRIMARY THREATS. LONG TERM MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM CHANCES DIMINISHING ON MONDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FOR NEXT WEEK...RESULTING IN RAIN FREE CONDITIONS AT LEAST THROUGH FRIDAY. A WEAK CUT-OFF UPPER LEVEL LOW MAY DEVELOP OVER PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS/MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TOWARDS NEXT WEEKEND AND MAY PERHAPS BRING RAIN CHANCES BACK TO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. CJC .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS EASTERN AR/NORTHERN MS THIS AFTERNOON. ACTIVITY SHOULD CONTINUE TO PUSH ENE THROUGH THE EVENING EVENTUALLY AFFECTING MEM BY 01-02Z. CURRENTLY HAVE VCTS PREVAILING GIVEN UNCERTAINTY STILL PRESENT. HI-RES GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THIS ACTIVITY COULD PERSIST THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT BUT HAVE ENDED IT TOWARD 09Z AT MEM AS OF NOW. WILL ADJUST IF NEED BE. FOR SUNDAY...EXPECT LIFTING CIGS AND QUIETER WEATHER WIND WINDS NORTHWESTERLY NEAR 10 MPH. TVT && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 339 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-231115- 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- 339 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A STRONG TO ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OR TWO IS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING ACROSS THE MID SOUTH. DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. A FEW STRONG TO PERHAPS SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN ARKANSAS...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. DAMAGING WINDS WOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY STORM THAT REACHES SEVERE LIMITS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
257 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015
TNZ091-092-222045-
HARDIN TN-MCNAIRY TN-
257 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015
...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL UNTIL 345 PM CDT FOR...
HARDIN COUNTY IN WEST TENNESSEE...
SOUTHEASTERN MCNAIRY COUNTY IN WEST TENNESSEE...
AT 257 PM CDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA SIZE HAIL OR
LARGER WAS LOCATED OVER ACTON...OR 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SELMER...
MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.
VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.
PEOPLE IN HARDIN AND SOUTHEASTERN MCNAIRY COUNTIES SHOULD MONITOR
THIS STORM CLOSELY.
LAT...LON 3504 8801 3501 8820 3500 8820 3499 8823
3500 8858 3510 8863 3536 8814
TIME...MOT...LOC 1957Z 249DEG 23KT 3505 8849PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
459 PM CDT SAT AUG 22 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0302 PM TSTM WND DMG MICHIE 35.06N 88.43W
08/22/2015 MCNAIRY TN TRAINED SPOTTER
A ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF A BUILDING AND NUMEROUS TREE LIMBS
DOWN. TIME IS RADAR ESTIMATED.
&&
AJCThe Memphis radar (KNQA), 123 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:35 UTC.
1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Golfball size hail fell along Highway 35 near Whitten Road and Hughes Road just west of Courtland.
Straight line winds tore the roof off a mobile home addition. A tree was knocked down on a storage shed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, August 2015
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: 598649, 598651.