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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 21, 9:25 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA 1025 AM CDT WED AUG 21 2002 SMALL BAND OF SHOWERS EDGING INTO WESTERN OSAGE AND PAWNEE COUNTIES THIS MORNING...BUT ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH AND SHOULD BE GONE OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. WILL UPDATE ZONES WHEN THIS ACTIVITY DISSIPATES...WHILE REMAINDER OF FORECAST LOOKS GOOD. CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH DIMINISHING SHOWERS WILL THIN THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND FORECASTED TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE. .TSA... AR...NONE. OK...NONE.
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 99 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:28 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started a 40x264 foot poultry house on fire. The fire consumed the hay in the building and also destroyed two pickups, a tractor and a generator.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Arkansas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Arkansas, 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: 5313148.