High Wind in Connecticut, May 24, 2002

Name: High Wind in Connecticut, May 24, 2002
Start: 2002-05-24T19:00
End: 2002-05-24T19:00
Location: Connecticut

May 24, 2002 · NWS OKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

According to witnesses and authorities, an experienced captain standing on the bow of a 66-foot ocean racing sloop was changing a large sail when a strong wind gust caused the pole supporting the large sail to suddenly break. The captain was tossed into the water and drowned about 2 miles south of Fairfield.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 happened

The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.

As a cold front moved southeast, winds shifted from west to north and gusted to around 27 knots, which was measured by the NOAA National Ocean Service Kings Point, NY Tidal Gage.According to witnesses and authorities, an experienced captain standing on the bow of a 66-foot ocean racing sloop was changing a large sail when a strong wind gust caused the pole supporting the large sail to suddenly break. The captain was tossed into the water and drowned about 2 miles south of Fairfield.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 24, 2:01 PM EST, 4 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 2:01 PM EST, 4 hours 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
301 PM EDT FRI MAY 24 2002

NOW:  CBRZ NOT HVG AS MUCH EFFECT ON TEMPS AS ONE MIGHT THINK GIVEN
H2O TEMPS IN 50S...1800 UTV TEMPS 80 AT KJFK...77 AT KFOK...81 HERE
AT OKX.  GO FIGURE...

SHORT RANGE:  CDFNT STL ARND ST LAWRENCE RVR-LK OT AND WL GRDLY SAG
SEWD DURG THE LT AFTN/EVNG HRS.  NOT A GREAT DEAL OF PCPN W/ THIS
FTR ATTM...SCT CVRG AT BEST.  CVRG IS PROGGED TO INCR AS IT ALL
APCHS THIS EVNG PER 24/1200 UTC ETA/AVN...HWVR AM STL INCLINED TO LV
POPS IN LO CHC CAT.  JUST ENUF INSTAB FCST BY ETA SNDGS (LI AOB 0/TT
APCHG 50) TO LV TS IN FCST AS WELL.  ALL SHUD BE CLR OF LI S SHORE
BY ARND MDNGT OR SO.  QPF GENLY QUITE LGT...XCP IN THOSE ISOLD HVR
SHRAS/TS.  SKIES CLR OUT BHND CDFNT AS COLUMN DRIES OUT QUITE NICELY
AS SFC HIPRES BLDS IN FM SWRN OT.

SAT DOMINATED BY HIPRES SLIDING OFF NE CST.  LLVL FLOW TURNS TWD SE
DURG THE DAY...SO COOLER AMS COOLED A TAD MORE ALG CSTL AREAS BY
ONSHORE FLOW.  MST OF THE DAY SHUD BE SUN-FILLED B4 CI BGNS TO INCR
LT IN THE DAY.  AVN A BIT SLOER TO BRING IN UPR LVL RH (THO AVN IS
SLGTLY FASTER W/ QPF SAT NITE).  WL OPT FOR SLOER RH INCR AND HV
INCRG AFTN CLDNS FOR SAT.

CDFNT TRIES TO RTN N AS WRMFNT SAT NITE/ERLY SUN BUT GIVEN TRACK
RECORD FOR WRMFROPAS AND INDICATIONS THAT THERE MAY BE OCCLUSION TO
THE FNT TO THE W...DO NOT SEE THIS HAPPENING TIL SOMETIME SUN AM AT
THE ERLST.  WL GO FOR CHC -RA SAT NITE INTO ERLY SUN AM...SIMLR TO
ONGOING FCST.  THEN...CDFROPA LT IN DAY SUN W/ SCT SHRA/TS...AGN
SIMLR TO ONGOING FCSTS THO HV ADJUSTED AREAL EXTENT/TIMING A TAD.

LONGER RANGE:  BASED ON AVBL 0000/0600/1200 UTC GDNC AND ENSEMBLE
FCSTS...CSTL SYSTM FOR ERLY-MID WK STL SHWG WAY TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY
TO MAKE SGFNT CHGS TO ONGOING FCST.  HWVR...2 TRENDS ARE EVIDENT
THAT WL LEAD ME TO MAKE SUM ADJUSTMENTS TO ONGOING LONGER RANGE
GRIDS AND VERBOSE FCSTS...1) TREND IS FOR SLOER SO WL HANG ONTO CLDS
LONGER THAN WE HV PAST FEW CYCLES AND 2) TRACK IS CLS ENUF TO CST
(W/ EVER-SO-SLGT CONSISTENCY IN HPC PROGS IF NOTHING ELSE) TO
WARRANT LO CHC -RA FOR A 12-18 PD IN WED NITE-THU TIME RANGE.  WL
ALSO KICK WNDS UP JUST A SMIDGE...BUT AM NOT GOING TO GO CRAZY TIL
WE SEE SOMETHING MORE CONSISTENT.

MARINE:  NO FLAGS.  WL TAKE A LOT OF EXTRA WTR TO GET INTO MINOR
FLDG CAT OVR THE WKND GIVEN FULL MOON.  HWVR...LTL IN WAY OF SURGES
XPCTD SO NOT ANTICIPATING ANY PROBS ATTM.  WHEN SURGES WL BE ON THE
INCR (ERLY-MID OF NXT WK)...ASTRO TIDES WL BE ON THE WAY DOWN.  WL
STL HV TO WATCH...BUT THATS A FEW DAYS AWAY STL.

.OKX...
CT...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
NY...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

REYNOLDS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Fairfield

When: May 24, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Fairfield County, 2 mi S of Fairfield
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.326, -73.447 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
High Wind, Fairfield	2002-05-24	34	Male	Boat	Direct

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Connecticut in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Connecticut, May 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: 5296851.