| Click on the following thumbnail to see a larger picture of the radar estimated rainfall from across the Mid-South. |
 |
Mid-South Flash Flooding
Wednesday-Thursday, November 28-29, 2001
...HEAVY RAIN COMES TO AN END AFTER 50 YEAR RAINFALL...
A STRONG STORM SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT RECORD RAINFALL TO THE MID-SOUTH HAS COME
TO AN END. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES WERE COMMON THROUGHOUT
THE AREA. THIS RESULTED IN EXTENSIVE FLASH FLOODING. NUMEROUS HOMES AND
BUILDINGS WERE INUNDATED BY FLOOD WATERS, ROADS WERE WASHED OUT, AND IN SOME
INSTANCES CARS WERE WASHED OFF ROADWAYS. ONE FATALITY DID OCCUR IN HORN LAKE,
MISSISSIPPI WHEN A CAR WAS SWEPT OFF A FLOODED ROADWAY.
BELOW IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND SOME OF THE RECORDS SET.
...MEMPHIS...
THE WEDNESDAY RAINFALL TOTAL OF 5.86 INCHES WAS THE SIXTH WETTEST
CALENDAR DAY ON RECORD...IN 129 YEARS OF RAINFALL DATA. IN
ADDITION...THE 24 HOUR MAXIMUM TOTAL OF 6.84 INCHES...FROM NOON
WEDNESDAY TO NOON THURSDAY...WAS THE HIGHEST 24 HOUR TOTAL RECORDED
IN THE LAST 50 YEARS. RECORDS INDICATE THAT THE LAST SIX INCH OR
GREATER DAILY RAINFALL IN MEMPHIS WAS IN OCTOBER 1935.
FOR THE MONTH...THE TOTAL OF 11.61 INCHES WILL STAND AS THE THIRD
WETTEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD...AND THE 24TH WETTEST OF ANY MONTH.
THE TOP 5 NOVEMBERS...
14.53 1906
13.21 1934
11.61 2001*
11.51 1996
10.52 1988
THIS TOTAL IS MADE MORE INTERESTING BY THE FACT THAT IT DID NOT RAIN
FOR THE FIRST 18 DAYS OF THE MONTH...AND IN FACT...RAIN ONLY
OCCURRED ON 6 OF THE 30 DAYS IN NOVEMBER.
AS A SIDE NOTE...ALTHOUGH FINAL NUMBERS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE UNTIL
SATURDAY...IT ALSO APPEARS THAT NOVEMBER WILL BE ONE OF THE TEN
WARMEST ON RECORD.
...JACKSON...
THE 48 HOUR RAINFALL TOTAL OF 7.07 INCHES ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY
IS THE SECOND WETTEST 48 HOUR PERIOD ON RECORD. THE RECORD IS 7.78
INCHES ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY IN 1987.
FOR THE MONTH...THE TOTAL OF 10.30 INCHES WILL STAND AS THE SECOND
WETTEST NOVEMBER ON RECORD.
THE TOP 3 NOVEMBERS...
11.21 1948
10.30 2001*
9.33 1957
...ELSEWHERE...
STATION COUNTY STORM TOTAL
NOV 26 - 29
BLYTHEVILLE MISSISSIPPI 4.56
BOLIVAR HARDEMAN 8.84
BRUCETON CARROLL 6.76
COVINGTON TIPTON 11.09
DYERSBURG DYER 7.12
JACKSON AIRPORT MADISON 8.65
JONESBORO AIRPORT CRAIGHEAD 5.59
LEXINGTON HENDERSON 7.32
MEMPHIS/AIRPORT SHELBY 10.07
MEMPHIS/DOWNTOWN SHELBY 7.42
MEMPHIS/SHELBY FARMS SHELBY 10.02
OXFORD LAFAYETTE 8.90
PARIS HENRY 9.37
SAVANNAH HARDIN 6.31
SELMER MCNAIRY 9.81
SOMERVILLE FAYETTE 6.30
TUPELO LEE MS 5.61
UNION CITY OBION 4.45
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE TOTALS WERE OBSERVED AT THE OBSERVATION SITE
INDICATED. HIGHER AMOUNTS MAY HAVE OCCURRED IN OTHER LOCATIONS.
| Click on the following thumbnail to see a larger picture of the radar estimated rainfall from across the Mid-South. |
|
| Click on the following thumbnails to see a larger picture of some of the river flooding caused by the heavy rain. | |||
 South Fork Forked Deer flooding across Hwy 210 just north of Halls, TN (12/04/01) |
 Obion River flooding in Bogota, Dyer county, TN (12/04/01) |
 Obion River flooding in Bogota TN (12/04/01) |
 Obion River flooding over County Line Road between Trimble and Popular Ridge in Obion/Dyer Counties TN (12/02/01) |
 Obion River flooding a mobile home park on the town of Obion, TN (12/02/01) |
 Obion River flooding in Rives, Obion county, TN (12/02/01) |
 Obion River flooding the town of Rives, TN (12/02/01) |
 Aerial view of Obion river flooding near Rives, TN (12/02/01) |