1 rip current, 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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 25, 12:25 PM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 125 PM EDT THU APR 25 2002 SOME SUBTLE CHANGES IN STORE OVER NEXT SEVERAL DAYS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA WEATHER BUT THAT IS ABOUT IT. SURFACE RIDGE WILL REMAIN JUST TO OUR NORTH WHICH KEEP US UNDER EASTERLY FLOW. WINDS WILL DECREASE SLIGHTLY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY THEN PICK UP A LITTLE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. UPPER RIDGE CURRENTLY CENTERED JUST NORTH OF THE BAY OF CAMPECHE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS WILL ALLOW A WEAK COLD FRONT TO MOVE INTO NORTH FLORIDA THEN BECOME DIFFUSE LATE IN THE DAY. MOISTURE IN PLACE ACROSS OUR CWA WILL BE AMPLE ENOUGH TO POSSIBLY CREATE SOME AFTERNOON CONVECTION PRIMARILY OVER THE INTERIOR AND WEST PORTIONS. SO WILL LEAVE SCATTERED POPS IN FOR THOSE AREAS. UPPER RIDGE WILL THEN BUILD BACK EASTWARD ACROSS THE AREA ON SATURDAY FOR MORE STABLE CONDITIONS ONCE AGAIN. NO RELIEF IN STORE FOR THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ESPECIALLY NIGHTTIME LOWS. EXTENDED...UPPER RIDGE OVER US STILL ON SUNDAY BUT A WEAK PERTURBATION WILL MOVE AROUND THE EAST SIDE ALLOWING THE CENTER TO ONCE AGAIN RETROGRADE WESTWARD ON MONDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW POSSIBLE ISOLATED ACTIVITY ONCE AGAIN BUT IT WILL BE A STRETCH AS NOT MUCH MOISTURE INDICATED. THIS A TAD BIT FASTER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. THIS FEATURE RAPIDLY MOVES EASTWARD ON TUESDAY SO WILL ELIMINATE POPS. UPPER RIDGE THEN RAPIDLY BUILDS BACK EASTWARD SO BACK TO CLEAR AND DRY ON DAYS 5 THROUGH 7. MARINE...WINDS HAVE BEEN A LITTLE HIGHER THAN MODELS FORECASTED BUT STILL BELOW ANY KIND OF ADVISORY CRITERIA. THEREFORE WILL BUMP UP WINDS A LITTLE FOR TONIGHT BUT AGAIN BELOW SCA OR SCEC. AS AFOREMENTIONED UPPER RIDGING OCCURS ON TUESDAY THE SURFACE RIDGE BASICALLY MOVES TO SOUTH FLORIDA FOR LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS. NO FIRE WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS. PBI BU 070/085 072/084 071 30-210 FLL BU 073/085 073/084 074 30-210 MIA BU 073/086 072/084 073 30-210 APF BU 070/086 069/086 069 30-310 .MIA...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 51-year old Canadian visitor drowned in a rip current at an unguarded section of Fort Lauderdale beach near the 4200 block of El Mar Drive.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Broward | 2002-04-25 | 51 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 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: 5289482.