Hail, Hillsborough
- When
- April 17, 7:15 PM EST to 8:15 PM EST
- Where
- Hillsborough County, Brandon
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.933, -82.283
Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, April 17, 2002
A slow-moving, marginally severe thunderstorm produced a variety of impacts in the north portion of Brandon during the evening of April 17th. 5 inches.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 TBW wrote it up.
A slow-moving, marginally severe thunderstorm produced a variety of impacts in the north portion of Brandon during the evening of April 17th. A resident near the intersection of Windhorst and Lakewood Drive reported quarter size hail, 24 feet of wooden fence blown down, and torrential rains of 4.5 inches.
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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 12:12 PM EST, 7 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 12:12 PM EST, 7 hours 3 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 112 PM EDT WED APR 17 2002 CURRENTLY...ILL DEFINED WEST COAST SEA BREEZE STILL PINNED CLOSE TO THE COAST. SCT SHOWERS ALONG EAST COAST SEA BREEZE MOVING WEST. SCT SMALL SHOWERS DEVELOPING OVER THE WEST COAST COUNTIES...WITH NO REAL BOUNDARIES VISIBLE ON SATELLITE. EXPECT INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF SHOWERS LATER THIS AFTN AND EARLY EVENING WHEN COLLISION WITH WEST COAST SEA BREEZE OCCURS. --FCST DISC-- MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH SHOWING VERY LITTLE CHANGE TO PATTER NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. UPPER RIDGE WILL REMAIN CENTERED OVER THE WESTERN GULF AND EXTEND EAST TOWARD THE FL PENIN. MODELS HAVE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES IN POSITION OF RIDGE AXIS...BUT GENERALLY OVER THE NCENT FA THROUGH SAT. ANOTHER DAY OF SYNOPTIC EASTERLY FLOW HITTING A WEST COAST SEA BREEZE ON THURS...WHICH WILL RESULT IN SCT AFTN AND EVENING SHOWERS AND ISOLD TSTMS. BY FRI AND SAT...MODELS REDUCE PWS A TAD. THUS WILL LOWER POPS 10-20%. GUIDANCE POPS SEEM TOO LOW...ESPECIALLY THURS...GIVEN LITTLE CHANGE SYNOPTICALLY. WILL MAINTAIN CHC POPS FOR THURS...THEN SLIGHT CHC FRI AND SAT. TEMPS WILL CONTINUE ABOUT 5 DEGS ABOVE NORMAL. --EXTENDED-- AVN KEEPS DEEP LAYER RIDGE OVER THE AREA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH MARGINAL DEEP LAYER MOISTURE. SFC RIDGE AXIS COULD SLIP INTO THE SCENT FA SUN AND MON AS A WEAK SFC FRONT SLOWLY SAGS SOUTHWARD INTO S GA BY MON. THIS WILL FAVOR SLIGHTLY HIGHER POPS INTERIOR...BUT ONLY 20% POPS FOR NOW. OLD MRF PUSHES FRONT THROUGH FA TUE...WITH A BRIEF BREAK TO THE LONG EASTERLY FLOW PATTERN AS WINDS BECOME NORTHERLY. FAST ZONAL UPPER FLOW PUSHES SFC HIGH QUICKLY EAST BY WED...WITH A RETURN TO LOW LEVEL SSE FLOW. WILL DROP POPS TUES BEHIND FRONT...AND LIKELY FOR WED AS WELL EVEN THOUGH MOISTURE RETURNS. --MARINE-- NO HIGHLIGHTS/PROBLEMS THROUGH THE PERIOD (MON). PRELIM #S: BKV 065/087 064/087 2322 TPA 069/086 069/086 2322 GIF 067/088 067/089 2322 SRQ 067/086 067/086 2322 FMY 066/087 066/088 2322= .TBW...NONE MORALES
The radar
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 28 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:13 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough
- When
- April 17, 7:15 PM EST
- Where
- Hillsborough County, Brandon
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.933, -82.283
Heavy Rain, Hillsborough
- When
- April 17, 7:15 PM EST
- Where
- Hillsborough County, Brandon
- Measured
- 4.5
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.906, -82.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 17 to 18, 2002
- Hail and Heavy Rain in Tennessee, April 17, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, April 17 to 18, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 17 to 18, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, April 17, 2002
- High Wind in Iowa, April 17 to 18, 2002
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, April 17, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, April 17 to 18, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 17, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 17, 2002
- Hail and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, April 17, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Massachusetts, April 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 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: 5285324, 5285325, 5285326.