Hail — Benton, Tennessee

2025-05-20 · near Camden Benton Co Arp, Benton, Tennessee

Wider weather episode

Numerous showers and thunderstorms covered Arkansas during the early morning hours on May 20, 2025. As these storms moved toward the Mid-South, the cap weakened, and one segment near the Tennessee/Mississippi border intensified and produced wind damage. These storms exited the region by mid-morning.

A brief lull in thunderstorm activity occurred from late morning until early afternoon. Gusty southwest winds aided in rapid atmospheric recovery with SBCAPE values greater than 2000 J/kg by mid-afternoon. In addition, dewpoints remained in the low 70s with bulk shear around 50 kts. Initially, storms were supercellular in nature and eventually formed into a line during the evening hours. Damaging winds and hail were common during this event, and a weak tornado occurred near Jackson, TN.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.0200, -88.1100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1261792. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.