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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 1, 1:45 PM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 245 PM EDT THU AUG 1 2002 ...RAIN CHANCES INCREASING NEXT 24 HOURS...ESPECIALLY NORTH... CURRENTLY...UPPER LOW OFF THE GA COAST HAS BECOME STATIONARY HAVING BEEN ABANDONED BY UPPER TROUGH TRYING TO PULL IT NE. RUC40 SHOWS VORT LOBE EXTENDING ACROSS N FL AND DROPPING SOUTH. THIS COMBINED WITH INCREASING DEEP LAYER MOISTURE AND CYCLONIC LOW LEVEL FLOW IS PRODUCING CONVECTION MOVING EAST ACROSS OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES. FARTHER SOUTH THOUGH...SEA BREEZE HAS DEVELOPED AND PUSHED THRU SUA AND FPR THANKS TO LIGHTER OFFSHORE FLOW AND STRONGER HEATING. MAY SEE A LATE SEA BREEZE UP TO VOLUSIA COUNTY WHICH WOULD ENHANCE ONGOING CONVECTION AS THE 2 FEATURES COLLIDE. EXPECT AN INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF CONVECTION THIS EVE ALONG EAST COAST SEA BREEZE...MAINLY AFFECTING COASTAL COUNTIES AND ADJACENT WATERS. ONE OR TWO OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE (DAMAGING WIND GUSTS/COIN SIZED HAIL). EXCESSIVE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE IN THESE STORMS...WHICH OFTEN IS THE GREATEST HAZARD. TONIGHT...LOW LEVEL TROUGH STRETCHES SW TOWARDS THE NE GULF OF MEXICO AND MODELS DEVELOP A WEAK SFC LOW OVER N FL. RESULTING INCREASE IN LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND SW FLOW CALLS FOR GOOD CHANCE POPS (50%) ACROSS THE FAR NORTH WITH NO EVENING MENTION. ELSEWHERE WILL GO 40% BUT MAINLY FOR EVE CONVECTION IN THE SOUTH...30% FOR OKEECHOBEE COUNTY. AVN APPEARS TOO QUICK TO DEVELOP THE CLOSED LOW BASED ON CURRENT OBS AND PRES ANALYSIS. WILL LEAN TOWARD MESOETA. FRI...SHEAR AXIS REMAINS JUST NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA IN N FL. MODELS SHOW SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES W/R/T THE SFC LOW BUT INTENSITIES ARE SIMILAR. AVN DROPS THE LOW FARTHER SOUTH BEFORE DRIFTING IT WEST ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO...WHICH IS REFLECTED IN ITS HIGHER POPS FOR SOUTHERN COUNTIES. WILL BUMP UP NORTHERN COUNTIES TO 70%...AND KEEP CENTRAL AT 60% AND SOUTH AT 50%. MAX TEMPS WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN THE UPPER 80S WITH CLOUDS AND WIDESPREAD RAIN IN THE NORTH. WARMER TEMPS WILL BE FOUND IN THE SOUTH WHERE RAIN COVERAGE WILL BE A BIT LOWER. INCREASING SW GRADIENT WILL AT LEAST DELAY SEA BREEZE DOWN THERE...IF NOT PROHIBIT IT. WEEKEND...SFC LOW DRIFTS WEST ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO AND SHEAR AXIS PUSHES NORTH AND AWAY FROM THE FA AS RIDGING NUDGES IN FROM THE SOUTHEAST. WILL GO 60%/50%/40% SAT FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. WILL LOWER THOSE POPS 10% ACROSS THE BOARD SUN AS MOISTURE RETREATS A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH. MON-THU...UPPER LOW IS PROGGED TO DROP S ACROSS THE SW ATLC AND MAY PULL THE SHEAR AXIS AND DEEPER MOISTURE BACK ACROSS THE AREA MON INCREASING RAIN CHANCES. DRIER AIR MAY ADVECT IN TUE AHEAD OF EASTERLY WAVE...THEN BACK TO HIGHER POPS WED/THU AS WAVE PASSES OVERHEAD AND PUSHES INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO. MARINE...WEAK SFC LOW WILL DEVELOP OVER N FL TONIGHT AND BACK THE SYNOPTIC FLOW TO THE SW. GRADIENT WILL BE STRONGER OVER THE SOUTH LEG FRI WITH AT LEAST A DELAYED SEA BREEZE. WINDS BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY THIS WEEKEND AS SFC LOW PUSHES WEST ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO AND RIDGE NUDGES IN FROM THE SE. NO HEADLINES EXPECTED. BIGGEST THREAT WILL BE STRONG STORMS MOVING OFFSHORE THIS EVE. PRELIM... DAB TT 071/088 073/090 073 5736 MCO TT 073/088 073/090 073 4635 MLB TB 073/090 074/090 075 4634= .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE...KELLY AVIATION/FIRE WX...BRAGAW
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 21 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:49 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Two men working on a commercial airline baggage crew were injured when lightning struck the tail section of a jet liner. The men were on the ground under the aircraft when they were struck. They were both hospitalized briefly.
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, August 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: 5316830.