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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 20, 1:50 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI 250 PM EDT TUE AUG 20 2002 SHORT TERM...AT THE SURFACE/LOW LEVELS ATLANTIC RIDGE WILL REMAIN ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THEN WILL RETREAT SLOWLY EASTWARD AS A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY MAKES ITS WAY ACROSS THE EASTERN SEABOARD AND MOVES OFFSHORE TO ATLANTIC WATERS BY WED NIGHT. THIS MEANS WE WILL CONTINUE UNDER A EAST/SOUTHEAST FLOW THAT WILL REMAIN LIGHT THROUGH AT LEAST THU. WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOWED A FEATURE THAT ONLY AVN WAS HANDLING WELL (COMPARED TO THE OTHER GUIDANCE). A TUTT LOW LOCATED OVER THE NORTHERN BAHAMAS. THIS TUTT LOW WILL SLOWLY DRIFT WESTWARD THROUGH THIS PERIOD. THE EFFECT OF THIS FEATURE OVER OUR AREA WILL DEPEND ON HOW WELL IT INTERACTS WITH LOCAL EFFECTS. BASICALLY SCATTERED SHOWERS/TSTMS THROUGH THE PERIOD SEEM TO BE A GOOD CALL. MARINE...AS STATED BEFORE...SURFACE FLOW WILL REMAIN BASICALLY EAST/SOUTHEAST 10 KNOTS OR LESS WITH NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN SIGHT EVEN FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD. EXTENDED...ATLANTIC RIDGE WILL BUILD BACK WEST WHILE A TROUGH WILL ESTABLISHED ITSELF OVER ERN U.S..SO THE FORECAST AREA WILL REMAIN UNDER SOUTH/SOUTHEAST FLOW WITH LOCAL EFFECT DICTATING THE KIND OF WEATHER WE SHALL EXPERIENCE...IN OTHER WORDS...NO CHANGE. NO FIRE WEATHER PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED. PBI BB 075/089 076/089 076 3434 FLL BB 078/089 079/088 078 3434 MIA BB 078/089 079/089 077 3434 APF BB 075/089 075/089 075 3535 .MIA...NONE. GARCIA
The Miami radar (KAMX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:38 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Two women standing about 30 feet apart on the bank of a canal while fishing were affected by a lightning strike. One women died four days later from her injuries.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Broward | 2002-08-24 | 27 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | 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, 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: 5308100.