A passing upper level disturbance caused a lone severe thunderstorm to spawn a weak tornado across a portion of northwest Tennessee during the late afternoon hours of July 3rd.
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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 passing upper level disturbance caused a lone severe thunderstorm to spawn a weak tornado across a portion of northwest Tennessee during the late afternoon hours of July 3rd.
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 Jul 3, 2:16 PM CST, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Memphis TN 316 PM CDT Mon Jul 3 2017 .DISCUSSION... Beginning to see a fair amount of redevelopment on radar early this afternoon across Northeast Arkansas and the Missouri Bootheel. These showers will track to the East Northeast at around 30 mph. They will track across areas that received over four inches of rain this morning. However, rain rates are not expected to be as high as we saw this morning and flooded areas have had ample time to drain. No lightning has been detected with the new development so far and conditions are only modestly unstable. The Storm Prediction Center has included most North Mississippi in a Marginal risk for severe thunderstorms this afternoon. Will advertise low confidence of Strong storms in the HWO. Overnight...showers should taper off although short term guidance does show some redevelopment before sunrise. Independence Day looks a bit warmer and a little drier than we have seen recently with highs in the middle to upper 80s. Heat indices will be in the low to middle 90s. Over the next several days a trough will deepen over the Midsouth...oriented from Minnesota into East Oklahoma. As a result...rain chances will remain enhanced across the region. The trough axis should shift East of the Mississippi River Thursday with higher rain chances over West Tennessee and North Mississippi. Friday and Saturday look warmer with highs in the upper 80s to near 90. Showers and thunderstorms late in the work week into next weekend look primarily diurnally driven in nature. 30 && .AVIATION... 18z TAF Cycle An MCV over the region continues to provide the chance for VCTS and even more TSRA later this afternoon and evening. Continued VCTS for the evening, and timed TEMPO for TSRA based on current HRRR guidance. MVFR ceilings likely into the overnight with winds becoming less than 7 kts. Fog is also possible, handled with TEMPO at all but KMKL, where formation appears more likely with light winds and abundant low level moisture. Conditions become VFR again tomorrow morning with winds more westerly and less than 8 kts. ZDM && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...None. MO...None. MS...None. TN...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Memphis TN 344 PM CDT Mon Jul 3 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>092-042245- 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- 344 PM CDT Mon Jul 3 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of East Arkansas... the Missouri Bootheel...North Mississippi...and West Tennessee. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight There is a Marginal Risk for severe thunderstorms across most of North Mississippi. The primary severe weather risks will be damaging winds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Additional storm chances are expected through this week. Any severe storm potential during this period will remain isolated and localized. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated at this time.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Memphis TN
207 PM CDT MON JUL 3 2017
MSZ011-012-020-031945-
Tallahatchie MS-Panola MS-Quitman MS-
207 PM CDT MON JUL 3 2017
...A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL 245 PM CDT
FOR...
Northwestern Tallahatchie County in northwestern Mississippi...
Southwestern Panola County in northwestern Mississippi...
Southern Quitman County in northwestern Mississippi...
At 207 PM CDT...a strong thunderstorm producing pea size hail or
larger was located near Vance, or 12 miles southeast of Clarksdale,
moving northeast at 30 mph.
Very heavy rain along with continuous cloud to ground lightning are
also possible with this thunderstorm.
People in northwestern Tallahatchie...southwestern Panola and
southern Quitman Counties should monitor this storm closely.
LAT...LON 3409 9045 3420 9045 3441 9005 3417 8991
3403 9041
TIME...MOT...LOC 1907Z 243DEG 25KT 3413 9038Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Memphis TN 326 PM CDT MON JUL 3 2017 MSZ002>004-009-013>015-032115- Lafayette MS-Tippah MS-Pontotoc MS-Marshall MS-Union MS-Benton MS- Prentiss MS- 326 PM CDT MON JUL 3 2017 ...A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL 415 PM CDT FOR... Northeastern Lafayette County in northwestern Mississippi... Tippah County in northeastern Mississippi... Northwestern Pontotoc County in northeastern Mississippi... Southeastern Marshall County in northwestern Mississippi... Union County in northeastern Mississippi... Southeastern Benton County in northeastern Mississippi... West central Prentiss County in northeastern Mississippi... At 326 PM CDT...a strong thunderstorm producing winds at least 40 mph was located near Cambridge, or 15 miles northeast of Oxford, moving northeast at 50 mph. Very heavy rain is also possible with this thunderstorm. People in northeastern Lafayette...Tippah...northwestern Pontotoc... southeastern Marshall...Union...southeastern Benton and west central Prentiss Counties should monitor this storm closely. LAT...LON 3428 8926 3455 8946 3488 8888 3459 8860 TIME...MOT...LOC 2026Z 235DEG 42KT 3447 8930
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:22 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Video confirmation of a brief tornado near the community of Newbern. No damage was reported. Rated an EF-0 with wind speeds of 65 kts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Tennessee, 2017Warnings in Tennessee, July 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: 707947.