Tennessee, 2022

Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 16, 2022

January 16, 2022 · NWS MEG · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

A couple of upper-level troughs moved out of the northern states and phased resulting in a cut-off upper low over the Arklatex region that moved across the Mid-South on January 16th. Precipitation out ahead of the system started off as rain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
20

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 couple of upper-level troughs moved out of the northern states and phased resulting in a cut-off upper low over the Arklatex region that moved across the Mid-South on January 16th. Precipitation out ahead of the system started off as rain. As the system moved eastward, colder air filtered in and rain quickly changed over to snow. A deformation zone set up just south of Interstate 40, along the Tennessee and Mississippi border, resulting in four to nine inches of snowfall. Outside of that band, across the rest of the Mid-South, up to 4 inches fell. This resulted in dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

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 Jan 15, 5:36 PM CST, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 5:36 PM CST, 6 hours 24 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 15, 12:17 PM CST, 11 hours 43 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter weather, 7 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Obion

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Obion forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.358, -89.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around an inch of snow fell in Obion County causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Dyer

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where
Dyer forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.059, -89.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around an inch of snow fell in Obion County causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Lauderdale

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where
Lauderdale forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.761, -89.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Crockett

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where
Crockett forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.814, -89.139 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Gibson

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where
Gibson forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.997, -88.933 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Weakley

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where
Weakley forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.298, -88.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Henry

When
January 16, 12:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.332, -88.301 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Storm, Shelby

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Reported by
Social Media
Coordinates
35.184, -89.896 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 4.5 inches of snow fell in eastern Shelby County creating dangerous travel conditions.

Winter Storm, Fayette

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Fayette forecast zone
Reported by
Social Media
Coordinates
35.197, -89.414 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 5 inches of snow fell in Fayette County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

Winter Storm, Hardeman

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Hardeman forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
35.207, -88.993 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 5 inches of snow fell in Hardeman County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

Winter Storm, McNairy

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
McNairy forecast zone
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
35.175, -88.564 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 6 inches of snow fell in McNairy County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

Winter Storm, Tipton

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Tipton forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.497, -89.759 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around 3 inches of snow fell in Tipton County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

Winter Storm, Chester

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
35.422, -88.613 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around 3 inches of snow fell in Chester County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

Winter Weather, Carroll

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.973, -88.450 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Benton

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Benton forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
36.070, -88.068 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches of snow fell causing some slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Haywood

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Haywood forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.583, -89.284 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to two inches of snow fell causing slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Madison

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.608, -88.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches of snow fell causing slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Henderson

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Henderson forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.654, -88.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches of snow fell causing slippery roads.

Winter Weather, Decatur

When
January 16, 2:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Decatur forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
35.603, -88.109 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One to three inches of snow fell causing slippery roads.

Winter Storm, Hardin

When
January 16, 3:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Hardin forecast zone
Reported by
Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates
35.199, -88.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 5 inches of snow fell in Hardin County creating dangerous to impossible travel conditions.

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Tennessee in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, January 2022

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1004056, 1004057, 1004058, 1004059, 1004060, 1004061, 1004062, 1004036, 1004037, 1004038, 1004039, 1004041, 1004042, 1004063, 1004064, 1004070, 1004269, 1004270, 1004271, 1004040.