1 extreme cold/wind chill, 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 May 20, 2:00 AM CST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 300 AM CDT MON MAY 20 2002 BIGGEST PLAYER IN THE WEATHER THIS WEEK WILL BE THE DRY AIRMASS OVER THE FORECAST AREA. PRECIP WATER VALUES GENERALLY 0.5 INCH OR LESS THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK BEFORE ATLANTIC/GULF MOISTURE STARTS INCREASING ON FRI/SAT. UNTIL THIS TIME MAINLY A TEMP FORECAST...AND MAY SEE A CLOUD FROM TIME TO TIME. EXPECT GREATEST CLOUD COVER TO REMAIN EAST AND WEST OF OUR AREA. NO POPS MENTIONED UNTIL THE WEEKEND LOOKS GOOD ATTM. UPPER BLOCKING PATTERN WILL RESULT IN LITTLE CHANGE BEFORE WEEK ENDS. NEW ENGLAND UPPER LOW AND ASSOCIATED EASTERN US TROUGH STARTS MOVING EASTWARD AFTER SHORT WAVE SLIDES THROUGH THE BASE TONIGHT. THIS WILL SEND A REINFORCING SHOT OF COOLER AIR OUR WAY FOR TUE. THEN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE AREA WITH A GRADUAL WARM UP TO MORE SEASONAL TEMPS BY THU/FRI. MAV NUMBERS APPEAR TO WARM THINGS UP TOO FAST ON WED WITH AN EASTERLY FLOW ACROSS THE AREA. AREA LOW TEMPS ARE APPROACHING RECORD LEVELS EARLY THIS MORNING. A FEW CLOUDS TONIGHT SHOULD KEEP TEMPS JUST ABOVE RECORD LEVELS AND WILL TAKE A MIX OF GUIDANCE VALUES. BUT IT STAYS CHILLY FOR MAY THE NEXT FEW DAYS. INTO THE EXTENDED...OMEGA BLOCK BREAKS DOWN AND UPPER RIDGE OVER FORECAST AREA WEAKENS. FLOWS BECOMES MORE ZONAL WITH A FEW PERTURBATIONS IN THE FLOW. LOOKS LIKE WE WILL BE DEALING WITH YET ANOTHER DISSOLVING FRONT SAT/SUN. PRECIP CHANCES DONT LOOK OVERWHELMING BUT CHC POPS WILL REMAIN. NO BIG CHANGES ATTM FOR THE EXTENDED TIME FRAME. PRELIM NUMBERS... HSV BB 069/046 066/044 073 7500000 BHM BB 071/046 068/044 074 7500000 MGM BB 074/048 073/046 077 7500000 .BHM...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
The morning low temperature measured at the Huntsville International Airport was 43 degrees. This low temperature established a new record low.
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, May 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: 5294459.