Hail, Monroe
- When
- May 20, 4:16 PM CST to 4:21 PM CST
- Where
- Monroe County, 2 mi S of Smithville
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Social Media
- Coordinates
- 34.041, -88.400
Quarter size hail reported near Smithville.
Hail in Mississippi, May 20, 2015
A mesoscale convective vortex moved into the Mid-South during the afternoon hours on May 20, 2015. This feature combined with a stalled frontal boundary to produce scattered thunderstorms across West Tennessee and North Mississippi.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.
A mesoscale convective vortex moved into the Mid-South during the afternoon hours on May 20, 2015. This feature combined with a stalled frontal boundary to produce scattered thunderstorms across West Tennessee and North Mississippi. A couple of weak tornadoes occurred in West Tennessee and isolated large hail was reported in North Mississippi.
What forecasters said that day
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 May 20, 2:47 PM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 20, 2:47 PM CST, 1 hour 29 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 347 PM CDT WED MAY 20 2015 .DISCUSSION... WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO PREVAIL OVER THE MIDSOUTH THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. THIS FRONT EXTENDED WAS ALONG AND NORTH OF I-40 AT 3 PM CDT. A CONVECTIVE MESOSCALE VORTICITY MAX WAS EVIDENT ON RADAR AND GOES VISIBLE IMAGERY NEAR THE MO BOOTHEEL...EXTENDING SOUTH DOWN THE MS RIVER DELTA. THIS FEATURE...ALONG WITH DIFFERENTIAL PREFRONTAL HEATING...WAS AIDING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCATTERED STORMS EAST OF THE MS RIVER AND EAST OF THE MEMPHIS METRO. TONIGHT WILL SEE STORMS EXIT THE TN VALLEY BY EARLY EVENING...AS POST FRONTAL CLOUDS...OVERSPREADING COOLER/DRIER POST FRONTAL AIR SPREAD THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH. GUIDANCE ENSEMBLE TEMPS ARE WELL BELOW CLIMATOLOGICAL NORMS ON THURSDAY... BUT PERHAPS STILL A DEGREE OR TWO TOO MILD. MUCH WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER POST FRONTAL STRATO CU BREAKS UP THURSDAY AFTERNOON. FRIDAY AND THE EARLY WEEKEND WILL SEE AN UPPER LOW DIG OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST...WITH DOWNSTREAM RIDGING PREVAILING OVER THE LOWER MS RIVER VALLEY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. FOLLOWING A CHILLY START FRIDAY... MODERATING /WARMING/ TEMPS SHOULD PREVAIL OVER THE MIDSOUTH THROUGH SATURDAY...WITH LITTLE CHANCE OF RAIN. RAIN CHANCES WILL RETURN SUNDAY...AS THE UPPER TROF WEAKENS AND LIFTS INTO THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PLAINS. DEEP ONSHORE FLOW... WEAK CONVECTIVE INHIBITION AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR 2 INCHES WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO CLOSE OUT THE WEEKEND. THE UPPER LOW WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AS IT LIFTS SLOWLY TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL DECREASE SLIGHTLY...BECOMING DIURNALLY ENHANCED WITH DAYTIME HEATING. PWB && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS PUSHING THROUGH WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AT THIS TIME AND WILL PRODUCE A PERIOD OF MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES. OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA OF RAIN...VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON. CEILINGS WILL LOWER TONIGHT AND OVERNIGHT TO IFR/LIFR LEVELS BEFORE IMPROVING SOME THURSDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL BE MAINLY FROM THE NORTH AT 5 TO 10 KNOTS FOR MUCH OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. ARS && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 20, 3:47 PM CST, 29 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 447 PM CDT WED MAY 20 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>092-220000- 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- 447 PM CDT WED MAY 20 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 17 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:15 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood in Alaska, May 20 to 25, 2015
- Flooding in Colorado, May 20 to 29, 2015
- Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 20, 2015
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, May 20, 2015
- Frost and Freeze in Minnesota, May 20, 2015
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Puerto Rico, May 20, 2015
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 20, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 20, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 20, 2015
- Flooding in Oklahoma, May 20 to 23, 2015
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, May 20, 2015
- Hail in Texas, May 20, 2015
More
Every storm in Mississippi in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, May 2015
Sources
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: 580910.