1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 19, 9:50 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 1050 AM CDT MON AUG 19 2002 QUICK UPDATE TO REMOVE BECOMING WORDING AND AFTERNOON WORDING. LATEST DATA STILL SHOWS H5 TROF ACROSS FORECAST AREA FROM THE NORTHEAST. WITH DEEP MOISTURE AND A FEW SHOWERS ALONG SEA BREEZE AND SHOWERS/STORMS DEVELOPING INLAND NEAR TROF AXIS. SHOULD BE GOOD COVERAGE BY LATER THIS AFTERNOON. /11 .MOB... AL...NONE. FL...NONE. MS...NONE.
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-191700- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 530 AM CDT MON AUG 19 2002 ...A FEW WATERSPOUTS ARE POSSIBLE JUST OFFSHORE OF THE COAST TODAY... ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS MORNING...AND EVENTUALLY DEVELOP FURTHER INLAND DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY. LIGHT WINDS THROUGH THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...COMBINED WITH MODERATE ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY... WILL RESULT IN FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISOLATED WATERSPOUTS ALONG THE COASTAL AREAS. WHILE THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ISOLATED IN COVERAGE OVER THE COASTAL WATERS...BOATERS ARE URGED TO STAY FAR AWAY FROM ANY WATERSPOUTS. WATERSPOUTS CAN EASILY FLIP MOST SMALL BOATS...RESULTING IN SERIOUS INJURY. WATERSPOUTS CAN OCCUR WITH THE LIGHTEST OF SHOWERS. THEIR MOVEMENT CAN BE ERRATIC...ESPECIALLY WITH LIGHT WIND ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS WHAT WE ARE SEEING TODAY. AS WITH ALL SUMMERTIME THUNDERSTORMS...LIGHTNING WILL BE A PRIMARY CONCERN FOR THOSE IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. REMEMBER...IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE RAINING FOR LIGHTNING TO STRIKE. BE PREPARED TO MOVE INDOORS QUICKLY AT THE APPROACH OF DARK CLOUDS OR THE FIRST SOUND OF THUNDER. ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTERS FOR SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS WILL NOT BE NECESSARY THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Two funnel clouds were reported in the south part of Baldwin county. The first was reported near Foley and the second near Orange Beach. Neither funnel touched down and both dissipated after appearing for a couple of minutes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2002
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. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5314727.