Alabama, 2002

Hail in Alabama, March 29, 2002

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

1 hail, 1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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
$2,000
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 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, 1 hour 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 8:32 PM CST, 1 hour 48 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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 29, 9:21 PM CST, 59 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
921 PM CST FRI MAR 29 2002

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0905 PM    NEWBURG                   AL   0.88 IN HAIL
03/29/02   FRANKLIN                       NICKEL SIZE HAIL WAS
                                          REPORTED IN EASTERN
                                          FRANKLIN COUNTY NEAR
                                          NEWBURG.

0905 PM    HATTON                    AL   0.88 IN HAIL
03/29/02   LAWRENCE                       NICKEL SIZE HAIL FELL
                                          ACROSS WESTERN LAWRENCE
                                          NEAR HATTON.

0909 PM    MOULTON                   AL   0.88 IN HAIL
03/29/02   LAWRENCE                       NICKEL SIZE HAIL WAS
                                          REPORTED IN MOULTON.

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 102 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:19 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Morgan

When
March 29, 10:20 PM CST
Where
Morgan County, Neel
Measured
2 in hail
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.467, -87.050

Two inch diameter size hail was reported near the city of Neel.

Funnel Cloud, Morgan

When
March 29, 10:50 PM CST
Where
Morgan County, Eva
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
34.454, -86.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was sighted near the Eva community.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5284534, 5284535.