Tropical Storm Hanna (2002)
Tropical Storm Hanna peaked at 50 kt in the North Atlantic between September 12, 2002 and September 15, 2002, with a lowest pressure of 1001 mb, and made landfall. It killed 3 people in the United States, by the National Weather Service’s record.
Track and intensity
The whole track of Tropical Storm Hanna, colored by strength, with the other storms of the 2002 season in the same basin behind it, and its wind and pressure hour by hour. Every fix is in the track table below.
The storm
- Basin
- North Atlantic
- Dates
- September 12, 2002 to September 15, 2002
- Peak strength
- Tropical Storm, 50 kt (58 mph)
- Lowest pressure
- 1001 mb (29.56 inHg)
- Landfall
- Yes
- Accumulated cyclone energy
- 1.8
- Tropical-storm-force wind reached
- 175 nmi (324 km, 201 mi) from the center at its widest
- Eyewall radius at its peak
- 90 nmi (167 km, 104 mi)
- Overall size
- 150 nmi (278 km, 173 mi) to the outermost closed isobar
- Fastest the center moved
- 14 kt (16 mph)
- Identifier
- AL092002
Deaths and damage
The sources count different things and are not added together.
NOAA Storm Events
3 deaths (3 direct, 0 indirect)$8.5 million
What National Weather Service offices recorded county by county in 10 states and marine areas, in the United States only. Property and crop damage as each office estimated it, which is not a national loss total.
Landfalls
| Time (UTC) | Where | Position | Wind | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 08:00 | Boothville, LA, 41 km away | 29.1N 89.1W | 50 kt (58 mph) | 1003 mb |
| Sep 14, 15:00 | Grand Bay, AL, 10 km away | 30.4N 88.4W | 50 kt (58 mph) | 1002 mb |
Landfall points the US agencies flagged in the best track. The nearest town is named from the site’s gazetteer, not from the report.
In the United States
NOAA’s Storm Events database, the record National Weather Service offices compile months after a storm, as compiled March 2026.
- Deaths
- 3 (3 direct, 0 indirect)
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $6.3 million
- Crop damage
- $2.2 million
- Events recorded
- 151 in 15 reports from 10 states and marine areas
State by state
| State or marine area | Deaths | Injuries | Damage | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 3 | 0 | $500,000 | 22 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | $7.9 million | 104 |
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | $90,000 | 4 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What was recorded
140 tropical storm, 6 heavy rain, 3 rip current, 2 flood.
Rainfall
The Weather Prediction Center attributes 1,161 rain gauge totals over the contiguous United States to this storm. The wettest reached 15.56 inches (395 mm).
| Station | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|
| DONALSONVILLE | 15.56 in (395 mm) | 31.03N 84.88W |
| COLQUITT 2 W | 9.90 in (251 mm) | 31.17N 84.77W |
| CHIPLEY 3 E | 9.67 in (246 mm) | 30.78N 85.48W |
| ST MARKS NWR | 9.58 in (243 mm) | 30.20N 84.22W |
| GREENVILLE | 9.27 in (235 mm) | 34.82N 82.37W |
| ALTO 4 SE | 7.86 in (200 mm) | 34.45N 83.52W |
| CODEN | 7.55 in (192 mm) | 30.38N 88.23W |
| JOCASSEE 8 WNW | 7.46 in (189 mm) | 34.98N 83.07W |
| WOODRUFF 5 NW | 7.37 in (187 mm) | 34.78N 82.12W |
| LAKE TOXAWAY 2 SW | 7.24 in (184 mm) | 35.12N 82.97W |
| MARIANNA 7 NE | 7.20 in (183 mm) | 30.73N 85.03W |
| LONGCREEK | 7.14 in (181 mm) | 34.77N 83.27W |
WPC’s storm rainfall file, 1900 to 2020, compiled by David Roth.
What forecast offices wrote
From the Storm Events narratives, unedited.
Tropical Storm Hanna made landfall along the gulf coast, and the remnants moved into the Carolinas. Areas in South Carolina received the most rainfall, with many cities reporting over three inches of precipitation. The 911 center reported flooding on Hwy 41.
Marion, South Carolina · Flood · Sep 14, 15:42 UTC
A twenty year old student from a local college had gone to Pensacola Beach with his brother. They were body surfing in waist-deep water when a rip current started pulling them out. One brother was able to make it ashore but the other one drowned in the rough water. Red flags were flying warning of very rough surf because of Tropical Storm Hanna.
Escambia, Florida · Rip Current · Sep 14, 19:00 UTC
An elderly man drowned while attempting to rescue a young boy from a severe rip current caused by Tropical Storm Hanna. Reported by the Walton County EMA.
Walton, Florida · Rip Current · Sep 15, 12:35 UTC
The remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna spawned thunderstoms that dumped over two inches of rainfall in a short period of time, causing standing water on South Third Street near Greenfield Lake.
New Hanover, North Carolina · Flood · Sep 15, 20:45 UTC
Track
| Time (UTC) | Position | Wind | Pressure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 00:00 | 26.3N 86.6W | 30 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 12, 06:00 | 26.7N 86.4W | 35 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 12, 12:00 | 27.0N 86.7W | 35 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 12, 18:00 | 27.1N 87.5W | 35 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 00:00 | 26.7N 88.0W | 35 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 06:00 | 26.9N 88.8W | 40 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 12:00 | 27.4N 89.3W | 45 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 13, 18:00 | 27.7N 89.3W | 45 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 00:00 | 28.0N 89.2W | 50 kt | 1001 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 06:00 | 28.7N 89.1W | 50 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 08:00 landfall | 29.1N 89.1W | 50 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 12:00 | 30.0N 88.8W | 50 kt | 1003 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 15:00 landfall | 30.4N 88.4W | 50 kt | 1002 mb | Tropical storm |
| Sep 14, 18:00 | 30.8N 88.0W | 30 kt | 1005 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 00:00 | 31.5N 87.0W | 20 kt | 1009 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 06:00 | 32.0N 86.0W | 20 kt | 1011 mb | Tropical depression |
| Sep 15, 12:00 | 33.0N 85.0W | 20 kt | 1014 mb | Tropical depression |
Other North Atlantic storms of 2002
- Tropical Storm ArthurNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm BerthaNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm CristobalNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm DollyNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm EdouardNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm FayNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Hurricane GustavNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Hurricane IsidoreNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Tropical Storm JosephineNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Hurricane KyleNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Hurricane LiliNorth Atlantic · 2002
- Unnamed tropical depressionNorth Atlantic · 2002
What this means
A best track is the record a warning agency settles on after the storm, not what it said at the time: position, maximum sustained wind and central pressure every six hours, revised against every observation that came in later. Category is the Saffir-Simpson scale, which runs from Category 1 at 64 kt to Category 5 at 137 kt and reads wind only, so it says nothing about surge or rain. Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the square of the wind through the storm's life, so it counts strength and duration together.
Sources
Storm history from NOAA NCEI’s International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), which merges the official best track of every warning agency. Live storms, cones, watches and warnings from the National Hurricane Center and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Archived radar from NOAA’s Level II archive.
The National Hurricane Center has published no tropical cyclone report for this storm.