Tennessee · 84 m elevation

Barometric Pressure in Memphis, TN

• 30.05Average pressure (inHg, sea level)
• 147.1Swing days a year · 32nd of 50
• 67.4Big-swing days a year (≥10 hPa)
• 79.4Significant 24h drop days a year

Overview

Memphis averages 30.05 inHg (1017.7 hPa) and 147 significant pressure swing days a year — but 61% of them fall between December and March.

Memphis averages 30.05 inHg (1017.7 hPa) at sea level over the 2015-2024 record, with a median of 30.02 inHg (1017.0 hPa). Ninety percent of hours fall between 29.78 and 30.39 inHg (1008.4 and 1029.1 hPa). On a typical day the barometer moves 0.08 inHg (2.6 hPa) over 24 hours — which is to say, most days it does nothing worth noticing. At 84 meters of elevation, the station-pressure average is 29.75 inHg (1007.6 hPa), about 0.30 inHg (10.1 hPa) below the sea-level-adjusted figure quoted in forecasts, so an uncorrected home barometer will sit near 29.75 and still be accurate.

The annual ranks put Memphis squarely in the quiet third of the 50 largest US cities, and they do it with unusual consistency: #32 of 50 for significant swing days, #32 for big-swing days, #33 for pressure variability, #32 for sharpest single drop. At 147.1 significant swing days a year against a national median of 180.7, and 67.4 big-swing days against a median of 86.1, Memphis runs about 80% of the national pace.

That single number describes a city that doesn't really exist. Memphis is two pressure climates bolted together — five warm-season months that behave like the Gulf coast, and four cold-season months that behave like the Ohio Valley. The averages are the seam between them, not a description of either.

Migraine & pressure-sensitivity outlook

• Low — under 6 hPa (0.18 inHg)
• Elevated — 6 to 10 hPa
• High — 10 hPa (0.30 inHg) or more
• Dashed outline = forecast (after today)

Association only. This calendar shows days when pressure changed — or is forecast to change — sharply over 24 hours, conditions associated with pressure sensitivity in some people. It is not a prediction of symptoms, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. The 30 days of history are there so you can compare the days you actually felt something against what the barometer did. Talk to a clinician about headache or migraine management.

Memphis produces 147.1 significant swing days (a 24-hour change of at least 0.18 inHg / 6 hPa) and 79.4 drop days per year, with 67.4 of those swings reaching big-swing size at 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) or more. In the top 5% of days, the 24-hour move reaches 0.34 inHg (11.4 hPa), and the steepest six-hour fall in the record was 0.37 inHg (12.6 hPa). These are conditions many pressure-sensitive people report as triggers.

For anyone tracking symptoms against the barometer here, the calendar matters more than the annual average. January alone brings 13.8 drop days, with March at 12.9 and February and December at 12.4 each. July brings 0.3. Late spring through early fall is genuinely quiet — June through September together average 3.2 drop days — and the run from November through March holds nearly all of the pressure activity, including every one of the decade's five steepest falls.

Against other cities, Memphis lands in the middle-calm range. Denver, the most volatile city in the set, has 1.91 times the swing days and 2.52 times the big-swing days. New Orleans sees only about 55% of Memphis's swing days. In the other direction, Memphis records 7.4 times the swing days of Miami and 21 times its big-swing days. Nashville is a near-statistical twin — 151.1 swing days to Memphis's 147.1, with essentially identical variability — so people moving between the two Tennessee metros should expect no meaningful change in barometric conditions.

Seasonal patterns

The seasonal split is the defining feature of pressure in Memphis. January delivers 24.9 significant swing days; July delivers 0.5. Monthly variability runs 0.25 inHg (8.4 hPa) in January against 0.08 inHg (2.7 hPa) in July — a factor of roughly three. December through March accounts for 89.6 swing days, or 61% of the annual total, while May through September combined produce 14.9 across five months.

Winter is when the Mid-South sits in the cold-season storm corridor, where Gulf moisture and Canadian air meet along fast-moving fronts. Monthly means peak in January at 30.16 inHg (1021.4 hPa) and stay elevated through February and December at 30.13 inHg (1020.2 and 1020.4 hPa). Summer flattens out as the Bermuda high settles in and the jet stream retreats north: June bottoms at 29.96 inHg (1014.4 hPa) with only 3.0 swing days, and July and August sit at 29.99 inHg (1015.5 hPa).

Every one of the five sharpest 24-hour drops on record landed between late November and early March. The largest was 0.82 inHg (27.8 hPa) ending January 9, 2024, followed by 0.74 inHg (25.1 hPa) on January 25, 2023, 0.73 inHg (24.8 hPa) on November 28, 2016, 0.67 inHg (22.7 hPa) on March 3, 2023, and 0.66 inHg (22.2 hPa) on February 20, 2019. The March 2023 event carried pressure to the decade's record low of 29.12 inHg (986.3 hPa). The record high, 30.91 inHg (1046.7 hPa), came on January 7, 2015. Notably, the largest 24-hour rise — 1.00 inHg (33.9 hPa) — exceeds the largest fall: cold-air surges rebuild pressure here faster than storms tear it down.

Month by month

Swing days: 24-hour change of at least 6 hPa (0.18 inHg). Drop days: 24-hour fall of at least 6 hPa. Averages per year, 2015–2024.

Records and extremes

Sharpest 24-hour drops, 2015–2024

Nearby cities

• Nashville, TN
• St. Louis, MO
• Louisville, KY
• Atlanta, GA
• Tulsa, OK
• New Orleans, LA

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