1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 7:45 PM CST, 6 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 845 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002 AT 01Z FRONT NEAR A DSM-MCI-AMA LINE AND HAS MOVED LITTLE IN THE LAST 4 HOURS. WHILE THERE ARE A COUPLE OF NARROW BANDS OF SHOWERS ACROSS ARKANSAS...MAIN THREAT APPEARS TO BE ABOUT 12 HOURS DOWN THE ROAD. WILL PROBABLY DOWNPLAY SEVERE THREAT OVERNIGHT...BUT KEEP SEVERE WORDING FOR THURSDAY. DO NOT PLAN ON REISSUING SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...UNLESS THINGS REALLY START FIRING IN NORTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. WILL DECREASE POPS AND WINDS FOR THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD IN MOST AREAS...AND MAY MAKE MINOR WORDING CHANGES FOR SECOND PERIOD. UPDATE OUT SHORTLY. 10 .MEG...NONE.
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 159 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:57 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two shop buildings and five storage units were damaged. Two cars were damaged by fallen trees. Several trees were blown down including one tree that was at least 200 years old.
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, 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: 5298603.