Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 29, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 29, 2002
Start: 2002-03-29T21:05
End: 2002-03-29T21:05
Location: Alabama

March 29, 2002 · NWS BMX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Nickel size hail was reported in eastern Franklin County near the city of Newburg. A few trees were also blown over.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.

Nickel size hail was reported in eastern Franklin County near the city of Newburg. A few trees were also blown over.

What forecasters said that day

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 Mar 29, 8:32 PM CST, 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 8:32 PM CST, 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
832 PM CST FRI MAR 29 2002

SVR TSTM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF NORTH ALABAMA. LATEST
SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS THE COLD FRONT FROM SW TN INTO CENTRAL KY...
SLOWLY MOVING SOUTHEAST. SEVERE CONVECTION ONGOING ALONG THE FRONT
WITH SCATTERED ACTIVITY DEVELOPING IN NW AL ATTM. MANY HAIL REPORTS
HAVE COME IN FROM THIS ACTIVITY....THEREFORE GREATEST THREAT APPEARS
TO BE FROM LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE
STILL POSSIBLE. LINE SHOULD CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS BUT SOME
DECREASE IN INTENSITY SHOULD OCCUR OVERNIGHT. WITH ISSUE UPDATE
SHORTLY...BUT CURRENT ZONE PACKAGE HAS SITUATION HANDLED QUITE GOOD.

MAIN UPDATE CHANGE WILL BE TO BUMP TEMPS UP A TAD IN SOME
LOCATIONS...MAINLY WEST AND NORTH. DEW POINTS IN THE 60S MOST
SPOTS...SOUTH WINDS TO CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...AND INCREASING CLOUDS.

75

.BHM...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Franklin

When: March 29, 9:05 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, Newburg
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 34.483, -87.583

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: March 29, 9:05 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, Newburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 34.483, -87.583

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, March 2002

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. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5284528, 5284529.