Storms of 2002
Every storm the National Weather Service filed in 2002, month by month, kind by kind and state by state. From 1996 the record holds 48 kinds of event with each office’s narrative; before that, tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, and before 1955 tornadoes alone.
2002 on the map
The 600 most significant episodes of 2002, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The year
- Events
- 50,936
- Deaths
- 498
- Injuries
- 3,155
- Damage
- $5.5 billion
- Episodes
- 16,446
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
By month
By kind of event
Deaths, injuries and damage are counted under the kind that heads each episode.
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 12,540 | 10 | 159 | $436 million |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 12,004 | 13 | 178 | $113 million |
| Winter Storm | 3,376 | 11 | 99 | $40 million |
| Flash Flood | 3,234 | 37 | 99 | $425 million |
| High Wind | 3,229 | 25 | 119 | $100 million |
| Heavy Snow | 3,126 | 3 | 39 | $9.9 million |
| Drought | 1,978 | 0 | 0 | $738 million |
| Flood | 1,773 | 16 | 35 | $386 million |
| Heat | 1,315 | 167 | 378 | $9,000 |
| Marine Thunderstorm Wind | 1,142 | 0 | 1 | $158,000 |
| Tornado | 1,040 | 56 | 1,107 | $1.1 billion |
| Lightning | 875 | 42 | 147 | $26 million |
| Ice Storm | 565 | 4 | 45 | $703 million |
| Heavy Rain | 562 | 0 | 0 | $994,000 |
| Strong Wind | 503 | 2 | 3 | $146,000 |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 460 | 6 | 0 | $71 million |
| Winter Weather | 439 | 1 | 3 | $390,000 |
| Wildfire | 411 | 1 | 140 | $213 million |
| Dense Fog | 405 | 22 | 146 | $4.0 million |
| Excessive Heat | 243 | 0 | 0 | |
| Funnel Cloud | 235 | 0 | 0 | $7,000 |
| Tropical Storm | 234 | 1 | 4 | $71 million |
| Waterspout | 207 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Surf | 202 | 11 | 8 | $42,000 |
| Frost/Freeze | 180 | 0 | 0 | |
| Blizzard | 175 | 4 | 9 | $187,000 |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 154 | 3 | 0 | |
| Hurricane (Typhoon) | 68 | 2 | 319 | $1.0 billion |
| Rip Current | 61 | 41 | 56 | $100,000 |
| Sleet | 57 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dust Storm | 44 | 2 | 49 | $73 million |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 32 | 0 | 0 | $11 million |
| Avalanche | 26 | 18 | 11 | $32,000 |
| Marine Hail | 15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Volcanic Ash | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dust Devil | 8 | 0 | 1 | $13,000 |
| Coastal Flood | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Freezing Fog | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seiche | 1 | 0 | 0 | $35,000 |
The deadliest
- Heat in Maryland, July 2 to 4, 2002
- Heat in Pennsylvania, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Heat in Illinois, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Heat in Illinois, July 15 to 22, 2002
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, October 11, 2002
- Heat in Pennsylvania, August 1 to 5, 2002
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, November 10, 2002
- Heat in Pennsylvania, August 11 to 20, 2002
- Tornadoes in Alabama, November 10, 2002
- Tornado in Tennessee, November 10, 2002
- Heat in Illinois, June 21 to 25, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, August 1 to 5, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, June 25 to 26, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, July 6 to 9, 2002
- Tornadoes in Ohio, November 10, 2002
- Tornadoes in Alabama, November 10, 2002
- High Wind in Illinois, March 9, 2002
- High Surf in New York, June 15, 2002
- Heat in Pennsylvania, June 24 to 27, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, July 1 to 6, 2002
- Heat in Illinois, July 7 to 8, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, August 12 to 19, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Missouri, August 23, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Maryland, April 28, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alaska, May 7 to 11, 2002
The costliest
- Hurricane in Louisiana, October 3, 2002
- Drought in Nebraska, December 1 to 31, 2002
- Ice Storm in Oklahoma, January 30 to 31, 2002
- Flood in Minnesota, June 10 to 25, 2002
- Hurricane in Guam, December 8 to 9, 2002
- Hurricane in Guam, March 1 to 4, 2002
- Hurricane and Tornadoes in Louisiana, October 2 to 3, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Maryland, April 28, 2002
- Hail and Heavy Rain in Nebraska, June 12, 2002
- Tornado and Tropical Storm in Louisiana, September 25 to 27, 2002
- Tornadoes in Indiana, September 20, 2002
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in North Carolina, December 4 to 5, 2002
- Ice Storm in South Carolina, December 4 to 5, 2002
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, December 4 to 5, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Flood in West Virginia, May 2 to 4, 2002
- Tornadoes in Texas, October 24, 2002
- Dust Storm and Damaging Winds in Arizona, July 14, 2002
- Drought in Kentucky, September 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Indiana, September 1 to 30, 2002
- Extreme Cold in Washington, November 1 to 4, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, November 10 to 11, 2002
- Drought in Kansas, December 1 to 31, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Texas, July 6 to 8, 2002
- Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 2002
- Wildfire in California, August 1 to 29, 2002
By state
Events filed in each state in 2002.
- Alabama759
- Alaska463
- American Samoa18
- Arizona213
- Arkansas900
- California916
- Colorado1,193
- Connecticut168
- Delaware182
- District of Columbia20
- Florida870
- Georgia2,752
- Guam23
- Hawaii351
- Idaho357
- Illinois1,427
- Indiana1,018
- Iowa1,374
- Kansas3,188
- Kentucky1,426
- Louisiana589
- Maine530
- Maryland647
- Massachusetts209
- Michigan1,090
- Minnesota1,550
- Mississippi809
- Missouri1,962
- Montana1,147
- Nebraska1,298
- Nevada192
- New Hampshire325
- New Jersey1,050
- New Mexico447
- New York1,376
- North Carolina1,255
- North Dakota874
- Ohio1,531
- Oklahoma1,572
- Oregon441
- Pennsylvania1,440
- Puerto Rico79
- Rhode Island31
- South Carolina722
- South Dakota1,273
- Tennessee1,187
- Texas3,600
- U.S. Virgin Islands9
- Utah324
- Vermont309
- Virginia1,369
- Washington226
- West Virginia889
- Wisconsin1,268
- Wyoming334
Coastal and lake waters
More from this year
Tornadoes in 2002The 2002 hurricane seasonEvery warning issued in 2002This day in weather history
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.