1 lightning, 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 Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 1:24 PM CST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 224 PM CDT TUE AUG 27 2002 MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW UPPER LOW MEANDERING ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN US THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. AS LONG AS THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION REMAINS JUST TO THE EAST OF THE STATE...EXPECT ONLY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE AREA...WITH HIGHEST COVERAGE BEING OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE STATE. WITH UNCERTAINTY IN THE EXACT WOBBLE OF THE UPPER LOW...WILL INCLUDE AFTERNOON POPS IN ALL AREAS. NEXT MINOR WORRY IS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MOVEMENT OF UPSTREAM MCS DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL NIGHTS. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT ANY SYSTEMS THAT DO DEVELOP IN THE PLAINS WILL REMAIN OFF TO THE WEST OF THE STATE. PER WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING. FOR TEMPS...WILL NOT STRAY TOO FAR FROM GUIDANCE. MAY GO SLIGHTLY COOLER OVERNIGHT FOR TENNESSEE VALLEY...AS LOWS LAST NIGHT CAME IN A FEW DEGREES COOLER THAN YESTERDAYS GUIDANCE. PRELIMS FOLLOW. HSV 065/086 067/086 067 2324 BHM 066/088 066/087 067 2324 MGM 068/090 068/090 068 2324 .BHM...NONE. 73
ALZ001>050-271922- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 122 PM CDT TUE AUG 27 2002 SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN PULSE IN THE AFTERNOON SUN. A FEW COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS...BUT NOTHING ORGANIZED. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY. WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL FACTOR: HUNTSVILLE...3 BIRMINGHAM...3 MONTGOMERY...2
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning was believed to be the cause of a house fire on US 278 just west-southwest of the center of Sulligent. The fire was reported at 6:45 pm CDT and the house was fully engulfed when the Sulligent Volunteer Fire Department arrived. The house was a total loss.
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: 5313315.