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 Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 19, 10:47 AM CST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1047 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2002 LOCAL RADARS CONTINUE TO INDICATE THE PROGRESSION A LARGE AREA OF SHRA/TSRA MOVING EAST INTO EXTREME WEST PORTIONS OF THE CWA...WITH ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY NOTED ACROSS EAST TEXAS...MOVING NORTHEAST. EXPECT THE POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS TO SLOWLY INCREASE THROUGH 00Z...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN 1/3 OF THE CWA .LZK...LAKE WIND ADVISORY TODAY NORTH AND WEST...ZONES ARZ003>007...ARZ012>016...ARZ021>025...ARZ030>031...ARZ037>038...ARZ0 40>041...ARZ052. 55
ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-191930- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 725 AM CST TUE FEB 19 2002 ...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS TODAY AND THIS EVENING...AND A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE REST OF THE STATE TODAY AND THIS EVENING... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER ABOUT THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF ARKANSAS TODAY AND THIS EVENING. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE REST OF THE STATE TODAY AND THIS EVENING. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE INTO ARKANSAS FROM THE SOUTHWEST DURING THE DAY TODAY. THIS WILL BRING WARMER AND MORE HUMID AIR FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO INTO ARKANSAS. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER THE WESTERN PARTS OF THE STATE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVE ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT. THE COMBINATION OF THE WARM MOIST AIR AND THE COLD FRONT WILL BRING THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...BUT A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY OVER SOUTHERN ARKANSAS. STORM SPOTTERS...AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS...AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS WILL LIKELY BE ACTIVATED LATER TODAY. 38
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:03 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Two men were unloading wood from a truck at a campsite when lightning struck. One man was killed by the lightning strike and the other suffered burns.
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, February 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: 5283235.