Heavy afternoon thunderstorms sent a sudden jolt through Memphis on Saturday, triggering an urgent flash flood warning that put the city and several suburbs on edge and sent officials scrambling to get the word out. The City of Memphis Office of Emergency Management amplified National Weather Service maps and photos on social media and urged residents to head for higher ground as water began to rise.
The advisory stretched across Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Cordova and parts of southeast Memphis and stayed in effect into the early evening. City officials cautioned that low-lying streets and underpasses could flood quickly as storms pushed across the Mid-South.
NWS details and footprint
The National Weather Service in Memphis issued the flash flood warning at 3:07 p.m. CDT and kept it in place until 6:15 p.m. Forecasters reported radar estimates of 1.5 to 2 inches of rain already on the ground, with another 1 to 3 inches possible.
The alert specifically named eastern Shelby and western Fayette counties and warned of flash flooding along creeks, streets and underpasses. The advisory and its mapped footprint are available from NWS Memphis.
City post and the numbers behind the map
The City of Memphis Office of Emergency Management shared images of the NWS warning on its Facebook page, urging residents to "move immediately to higher ground" and to stay out of flood waters whether on foot or behind the wheel. The city-posted map estimated roughly 518,780 people inside the highlighted polygon and identified 85 schools and nine hospitals within the potential exposure area, figures published by the city on Facebook. For the maps and photos, see City of Memphis Office of Emergency Management.
Roads and local impacts
Emergency products and local alert feeds flagged major travel corridors along with dozens of streams and drainageways that can surge quickly and flood underpasses. Officials warned motorists not to drive into flooded sections of road, no matter how shallow the water appears.
They noted that even relatively shallow, fast-moving water can sweep vehicles off the roadway and stressed that residents should obey road-closure signs and follow official instructions rather than trying to find a shortcut.
How to stay safe
Officials urged residents to keep phone alerts enabled and to monitor the City of Memphis Office of Emergency Management feed for real-time updates. The city’s Facebook post again emphasized the need to seek higher ground in affected areas.
This flash flood warning followed storms earlier in the week that brought damaging gusts and small hail to parts of the Mid-South, as reported in Morning Storm Blitz Slams Memphis.
