A bow echo embedded in a large area of showers and thunderstorms moved into North Mississippi during the early evening of April 2nd with some damaging winds.
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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 bow echo embedded in a large area of showers and thunderstorms moved into North Mississippi during the early evening of April 2nd with some 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 Apr 2, 2:57 PM CST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Memphis TN 357 PM CDT Sun Apr 2 2017 .DISCUSSION... At 3PM, a dangerous situation is currently unfolding across the majority of Louisiana at this hour. Latest GOES water vapor imagery shows a large MCS over Louisiana at this hour downstream of a large upper level cutoff low over west Texas. Latest surface analysis places a 1004 mb low pressure center near the ArkLaTex with a warm front extending southeastward across south central Mississippi. Here in the Mid-South, cirrus clouds have overspread the majority of the area with overcast skies. Temperatures range from the mid 70s to lower 80s across the region. Dewpoints are steady in the 50s with southeast winds at the surface. Showers and thunderstorms are beginning to move into our area from the southwest. Short term...tonight through Wednesday... The ongoing convection to our southeast is expected to quickly push into our area over the next couple of hours. Showers and thunderstorms will overspread the entire region by midnight and continue into the overnight hours. The threat of severe weather continues to remain somewhat limited. Short term Hi-Res models show moisture pooling up the Mississippi River delta this evening ahead of an approaching shortwave. Shear profiles show plenty of curvature in the short term, but instability will be lacking initially. At this time, the best combination of shear and instability will remain mostly to our south in closer proximity to the warm front. This will confine the strongest storms to portions of northwest Mississippi and southeastern Arkansas. The main threat still appears to be damaging winds as shear is mostly unidirectional. An increasing threat appears to be flash flooding. As multiple shortwaves eject from the main trof over the next 12 hours or so, a series of heavy rainfall will fall over north Mississippi and portions of west Tennessee. The GFS and NAM continue to be the most bullish, generating as much as 4 inches in about a six hour period, while the Euro and SREF produce less than two inches. By late Monday morning, the main complex of storms will push off to our east and we will likely see a break from showers and thunderstorms in its wake until early afternoon. Instability looks decent ahead of the cold front, but a mid-level dry slot will likely keep us capped. However, any storms that get going could be strong with small hail and gusty winds as lapse rates aloft will be healthy. Confidence in severe storms is low at this time, as ongoing showers and clouds during the afternoon will inhibit the amount of instability. By Tuesday, All rain will be off to our east and we will see a warm Spring day. Highs will be generally be in the 70s. Another large trof will eject from the Central Plains on Wednesday. Models are showing this system maturing as it moves east of our area, thus warranting only a low chance of POPs during the day through our area, with better chances just to our east. Long term...Thursday through next weekend... An upper level trof will remain over us through early in the weekend. This will keep us in a cooler and cloudy regime. Highs will generally only be in the 60s with lows in the 40s. Lows may dip into the mid to upper 30s near the Tennessee River Valley on Saturday morning. This timeframe will need to be watched for potential frost, as the growing season is in full bloom. Stay tuned. AC3 && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFs VFR to prevail areawide this afternoon. TSRA complex will lift into the Midsouth after 00z, along and ahead of a rapidly- advancing surface warm front. HRRR model was considerably weaker with late evening/overnight convection over the Midsouth compared to NAM/RAP solutions, preferring to focus strongest forcing along an eastward-moving MCS near the gulf coast. Difficult to ignore the NAM-depicted TSRA moving up the delta toward MEM overnight, and have focused strongest TEMPOs during this period. This activity would be in advance of a high-amplitude midlevel shortwave and steep midlevel lapse rates (near 7.2 C/KM). Daylight morning hours should see post convective pockets of VFR expanding under the midlevel dry slot, followed by additional isolated TSRA following the valid TAF period Monday afternoon. PWB && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...None. MO...None. MS...None. TN...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Memphis TN 855 AM CDT Sun Apr 2 2017 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>022-048>055-088>092-031600- 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- 855 AM CDT Sun Apr 2 2017 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 to severe storms will be possible across portions of the Mid-South during the evening and overnight hours. The risk area includes east-central Arkansas and north Mississippi, as well as the part of the Memphis metro area. The primary hazard will be damaging winds with a secondary threat of flash flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday There is a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms again on Monday across all of the Mid-South. The primary hazards will be large hail and damaging winds. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this evening. AC3
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 173 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:56 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A large tree fell on a house. One person died as result.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Tallahatchie | 2017-04-02 | 55 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, April 2017
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: 691827.