Top weather events of the decade

[Thundersnow]

This question was posed at Talkweather, so I thought I'd ask the question here.

We're coming up on 2010, which wraps up the 2000s as a decade.  So, what are your most memorable events?  These can be your favorite or worst/most infamous.


Here are some I most remember, not necessarily in any particular order:

1. Super Tuesday Outbreak, 2/5/2008
2. 4/7/2006 Outbreak (most notably the tornado that affected Goodlettsville, Hendersonville, and Gallatin)
3. Surprise snowstorm hits Nashville on 1/16/2003, dropping 7-9".
4. Late season hard freeze on Easter weekend 2007.
5. Drought and heat wave during the summer of 2007 (including many days in the 100s during August 2007).
6. Winter storm of December 22-23, 2004
7. Hurricane Katrina, 2005 (even though it affected other states the worst, it's hard to leave this one out for events of the decade)
8. 4/10/2009 Outbreak (most notably the Murfreesboro tornado)
9. "Hurricane Elvis" hits Memphis in July 2003 (derecho causes widespread destructive winds)
10. Hit 'n miss snowstorms of March 2008 & 2009 deliver amounts in excess of a foot in isolated areas of West and Middle TN.


Any to add?

[Crockett]

From my vantage point, it's been a dull decade in the weather department. We didn't see any of the big winter storms that we saw in the '70s, '80s and '90s, and severe weather rarely has a major impact here on the northern Plateau (as opposed to Cumberland County, where tornadic activity is reported seemingly on an annual basis). The January 2003 event wasn't a memorable one here, and we largely missed out on the pre-Christmas storm in 2004 as well.

Here are the ones I'll remember when I think back to this decade:

* Super Tuesday outbreak. Even though we had little severe weather here, it was shocking to see the reports coming in from the rest of the state.

* 2007 Easter weekend deep freeze. The early spring was beautiful leading up the freeze. Not so much afterwards.

* Drought/heat wave of 2007. Quite impressive on every level. We didn't see the extent of the heat that most of the state saw (even though we were quite hot...recording our first 100-degree day in many years) but the lack of rain was something to behold. One of our local free-flowing rivers was on the verge of not recording an actual flow for the first time since the 1930s.

* Freeze of January 2009. It wasn't record-setting, but in terms of how prolonged it was, it was the biggest freeze we've had in this part of the state in a number of years, with a low of -1 and four consecutive nights of temps below 5 degrees. It was preceded by a heavy rain event, so wet-weather waterfalls, etc. were frozen over and quite beautiful.

* May 2009 EF2 tornado in Scott County. It was one of only a small handful of tornadoes to touch down here since the '74 Super Outbreak, and the strongest to touch down since then as well.

* February 2005 (I think), we had a six-inch snowfall on the northern Plateau, our biggest of the decade.

[Eric]

My top 5:

1a.  Super Tuesday Outbreak of 2008 (for obvious reasons... )

1b. Good Friday Outbreak of 2009 (again...for obvious reasons...  )

2.  January 2003 - snowstorm OF THE DECADE dropping 8" on Smyrna

3.  April 2006 Outbreak - was at work when this one went down.

4.  March 2007 snows - had to travel to Mom's house in Clarksville for this one, and we weren't disappointed.  I think we ended up with 5 inches.

5.  Drought of 2007

[StormNine]

This list is the most significant events into three categories (Cold/Winter, Severe/Flood, and Other) This was a very eventful decade for West KY despite the fact that some of the winters sucked.

Cold/Winter
1) Jan 2009 Historic Ice Storm
2) Dec 22nd-23rd Record Snowstorm
3) Major Winter Storm of Dec 4th 2002
4) Ice Storms of Feb 2008
5) President's Day Sleet Storm Feb. 2003
6) Dec 2000 Cold and light to moderate winter events
7) March 2008 Snowstorm
April 13th 2004 Surprise Surprise

Severe/Flood
1) November 6th 2005 Henderson/Evansville Tornado
2) November 15th 2005 tornado outbreaks
3) May 2003 4th, 6th, and 11th tornado events
4) Owensboro KY tornado Jan. 3rd 2000
5) Super Tuesday Outbreak Feb. 5th, 2008
6) April 2nd and 7th 2006 Severe WX events
7) October 18th 2007 Tornado Outbreak
Memorial Day Weekend 2004 Severe WX event

Other
1) 2007 Drought/Heat Wave
2) Sept. 2008 Ike Wind Event
3) Easter 2007 Freeze
4) Summer 2002 Drought
5)  April 2008 Wabash Valley Earthquake

Me Personally
- Favorite Winter Storm (Dec 22nd-23rd 2004)
- Most Disappointing Winter Event (Jan, 31st, 2008 supposed to snow but didn't)
- Biggest Winter Surprise (April, 13th, 2004)
- Favorite Winter (2002-03)
- Least Favorite Winter (2001-02)
- Largest Snowfall from one storm (5.5 inches from March 7th-8th 2008 Snowstorm)
- Most Memorable Severe WX events (11/15/05, 4/2 and 4/7/06 and 2/5/08)
- Biggest Severe WX bust (4/10/08)
- Biggest Severe WX overachiever (11/5 and 11/6/05)
- Favorite Spring Severe Weather Season (2003)
- Least Favorite Spring Severe Weather Season (2001)

Everyone have a safe rest of 2009 and this decade.  Lets hope for a lot of fun, good times, and hopefully good snow, and even chase opportunities next Decade.

[Clay]

I will never forget the February 2006 Snow Bust. 5-8" of snow was forecasted and none accumulated.

[Adam]

i actually got an inch or two from that system what happened for everyone else.

[Clay]

A nudge of warm air turned our snow over to rain around 10PM or so. We never turned back to snow.

[Eric]

I will never forget the February 2006 Snow Bust. 5-8" of snow was forecasted and none accumulated.

Accumulated?  I bet I got maybe a handful of flakes...that would be it.  I'm still jaded.... 

[Clay]

I remember I changed over to snow here and some actually stuck to the grass. We got maybe an inch before it turned back over to rain and melted everything.

[StormNine]

We got 2 inches better than several, but still was dissapointed with that one because we were forecasted to get 5 to 6, and we got 2 inches that was gone in 12 hours.  It was a close one for my most disappointing winter storm, but I had to go with Jan 31st-Feb 1st 2008.  Because we had an inch that morning, and were expected to get 3 to 4 that night.  I started wishcasting because we had surprise snowfall and thinking that West KY should be cold enough to get into the 6 to 8 inch range, but it didn't happen as most all of West KY went bust, as the moisture wasn't there, and we warmed up to 40 degrees in the middle of the night.  I got nothing and even NW KY only got a dusting to an inch.

So for now on, I am very careful on wishcasting.  Feb 10th 2006 may be a close second.

[Charles L.]

February 5th and even Hurricane Katrina are personal choices for 1 and 2 on my list.

February 5th, for obvious reasons, and Hurricane Katrina due to the mission work I did down there the summer of '06 and fall of '07.

[Kevin]

Ooops! I knew I would forget to post this over here too when I did it at Talkweather! 

Anyway...here is a cut-and-paste from my post there...

10) June 2009 Derecho - Perhaps Tropical Storm "Priscilla" if colloquially named...impressive moving bow echo with a few low-end tornadoes affecting much of the region...70+ mph winds...100,000+ without power at peak. First PDS Severe Tstorm Watch in this area.

9) July 2009 Tornadoes - a surprise and highly anomalous event...the biggest outbreak locally in a year that was dead otherwise as several impressive supercells moved through the area...causing damage in a highly commercialized area of Northeast Memphis among several other tornadoes.

8 ) Hurricane Katrina (Remnants) 2005 - The only time I can remember true "tropical storm" conditions in the Memphis area...50 mph winds and heavy rain made it a long night that August 29 (though not nearly as long and tragic that it would be on the Gulf coast)...there were several downed trees and powerlines in the area...myself among the affected for a few days.

7) April 2006 Tornadoes - A night (April 2) and then day (April 7) that the severe weather mostly escaped the Memphis-area proper...but the incredible supercells that tracked north of the region on the 2nd leave behind some of the most impressive radar captures seen locally and a difficult toll of death (25+) and massive damage from multiple F3s.

6) Snowstorm 2008 - One of the most impressive winter storms that I've experienced in my relatively short life. Well forecast several days out to add...increasing the anticipation. Not only the first time I had ever seen 6" of snow...but one that was wind-driven and came *this* close to reaching blizzard criteria at a few local ASOS. Even though it was almost all gone within 24 hours...still a greatly memorable night and event.

5) December 2004 Sleet Storm - Yikes. Sleet...sleet...sleet...and I never knew sleet could fall as heavily as it did. I was actually stupid enough this day to be caught outside just before the onslaught of 2"+ of heavy sleet...and witnessed the deterioration of conditions on the road from not a big deal to a complete and total nightmare. And that ringing of the sleet on the car...still very vivid in my mind to this day. At least the brutal cold afterward guaranteed my first "White" Christmas...even being a big technicality (very little actual fallen snow)...and not to mention the extra depth of cold air prevented what was thought to be developing as a major ice storm.

4) May 2003 Severe Weather - Not sure if there could ever be a more active weather week than that one was. Day after day of severe weather...many of them impressive tornadic supercells...especially on Night one (where Jackson was hit by an F4). Memphis really escaped any bigtime severe weather...but the number of tornadoes (still #1 locally with 40+ over the course of those 5 or so days) and their destructive power put it high on the list.

3) Snowstorm 2009 - Never would have thought that just one year after first seeing 6" of snow...I'd see it again...with even a little more. This one ranks higher than 2008 though because of the massive amounts that dumped on areas just N/NE of here...over a foot in many areas...with reported rates as high as 3"/hour. Even at my house 2" fell in one hour
as that heavy band finally pivoted south into the city after being stalled for hour after hour...a heavier rate than 2008 as well. Unfortunately in this case...it was just like 2008 in that most of it was gone in 24hours time...but it will be hard to forget watching the radar that night as the snow just continued to dump and dump on much of West Tennessee.

2) "Hurricane Elvis" 2003 - Wow. Completely unexpected event that I believe still is the largest costing storm in Memphis city history...outdoing both the 1994 Ice Storm and the Number 1 entry below. I vividly remember looking at the just released SWODY1 for July 22, 2003 at about 1 AM that morning...just before heading to bed...and noting Memphis was on the very edge of the Slight Risk outlook...and was thinking it shouldn't be too bad later. Ooops...next thing I remember was the weather radio going off at 6 AM as the powerful derecho was entering East Arkansas...aiming for Memphis. It didn't look extremely impressive...but when it crossed the River in the next hour it took on an entirely new life. I was on the northern end of the bow echo but even there the winds were roaring at 70-80 mph...and stayed above 60 for a good 15 minutes after the damaging winds first arrived. The lightning and thunder was incredible...still not sure if I remember something as impressive...and of course the power went out. We were lucky at only 3 days though...some went 15. The derecho...hitting at morning rush hour of all times...carrying 100 mph winds...took most off guard and left the city paralyzed...85% without power...by far the most in city history (even exceeding the 94 ice storm). I don't think there was a part of the city...county...or even a large swath of the Mid-South region...that was completely untouched. Not only tree/powerline damage (but this was on a scale rarely seen anywhere)...but structural damage that would compare in some cases to a modern EF2 tornado. It would have seemed as if this would have been the obvious #1...but one night wouldn't be outdone...

1) Super Tuesday 2008 - You knew several days out this one had the potential to be huge...and sadly it was just that. It was about one of the best forecast events that I can remember...everybody was on it...but there was just nothing that could prevent the strength and sheer number of tornadoes...and thus the number that would end up losing their lives...the most in any event since the Nexrad era. And this was one Memphis wasn't going to escape this time...it among the many areas hit by tornadoes...including several EF4s. Its a day that will undoubtedly be used in many case studies for years to come...and leaves behind radar imagery that's still stunning to look at to this day. For me personally...having the opportunity to work this event with professional meteorologists tasked with warning those in the path of the tornadoes...and I feel did help save many...many lives...despite those lost...was incredibly humbling and serves as one of the proudest moments of my life (even if we did bail for a few minutes for our own safety ). Its also scary to think that if the Southeast Memphis Tornado had remained on the ground through the rest of the county...its track would have put it at no more than 3/4 mile from my own home. I believe we did a thread on the Super Tuesday event early this year for the one-year anniversary...and I had a much longer posting of my reflections there if you wish to dig it up...I'm too lazy and my hands too tired from typing at this point!


A few Honorable Mentions to Note: November 2001 Severe Weather/Flash Floods, 2000 & 2007 Heat/Drought, 2008 Gradient Wind Event, May 2008 Severe Weather, February 2006 Snow, February 2002 Snow, February 2001 Severe Weather...

[Thundersnow]

Nice writeup, Kevin.

I should have remembered May 2003 and would have tried to fit it in my list had I remembered.  There were several nights of severe weather, complete with nocturnal tornadoes (tore up parts of the Franklin area around here).

[tennessee storm09]

3 big events that stick in my mind are:   (1) super tuesday tornado outbreak, my town hit pretty hard. (2) tornado outbreak in may4, 2003, ef4 within a mile from my house that nite. (3) february 28 snowstorm, i got right a foot at my house. best part of the storm was the freakish lightning and thunder. it was awsome, like memphis weather said. it just kept dumping snow as the low just sit n spin.

[Eric]

@ Kevin....