Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, July 20, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, July 20, 2002
Start: 2002-07-20T14:57
End: 2002-07-20T18:06
Location: Florida

July 20, 2002 · NWS MLB · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 20, 1:22 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 1:22 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes before

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
222 PM EDT SAT JUL 20 2002

CURRENT WEATHER...SURFACE RIDGE AXIS SITUATED OVER SOUTH FLORIDA.
SURFACE TO 700MB RIDGE PERSISTS OVER FLORIDA/EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO.
ABOVE 700MB WEAK TROUGHING EXTENDS ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD DOWN
TO GEORGIA. TAILEND OF A SURFACE FRONT/TROUGH...PARENT LOW LOCATED
OFF NEW ENGLAND STATES...STRETCHES ACROSS NORTH FLORIDA...BIG BEND
AREA AND TOWARD MISSISSIPPI DELTA. WEAK BAND OF VORTICITY AHEAD OF
THE FRONT/TROUGH WAS HELPING TO ENHANCE CONVECTION OVER THE SOUTHERN
FORECAST AREA. RADAR WAS DEPICTING A FEW POP UP SHOWERS OVER THE
INTERIOR AND A PERSISTENT AREA OF SHOWERS OVER EASTERN MARTIN COUNTY.
LASTLY...WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS TROUGH MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST ACROSS
THE OHIO/TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEYS.

DISCUSSION...THE WEAK FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST STATES
AND INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. THIS WILL KEEP SURFACE RIDGE AXIS
WELL SOUTH OF CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH MONDAY. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
FIELD REMAINS AROUND 1 3/4 TO 2 INCHES OF PRECIPITABLE WATER THROUGH
THE FORECAST CYCLE AND SEA BREEZES JUSTIFY AFTERNOON AND EVENING
STORMS EACH DAY. GFS MAINTAINS TROUGHING OVER THE SOUTHEAST THROUGH
THURSDAY THEN BY NEXT SATURDAY...LIFTS THE FRONT OFF THE MID
ATLANTIC REGION. HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS TO NORTH FLORIDA BY
SUNDAY BRINGING BACK AN EASTERLY FLOW TO THE AREA.

AS LONG AS THE RIDGE AXIS REMAINS TO OUR SOUTH THE BASIC FORECAST
WILL NOT CHANGE THAT MUCH. AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING LIGHTNING
STORMS EACH DAY. AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES WILL HOLD DOWN DOWN DAILY
HIGHS ALONG THE COAST A DEGREE OR TWO...BUT STILL FORECASTING
AROUND 90 DEGREES COASTAL...AND LOW TO MID 90S FOR THE INTERIOR.

COASTAL WATERS FORECAST...SOUTH TO SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW WILL PERSIST.
WINDS MAY INCREASE OVER THE NORTHERN LEG MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS
GRADIENT STRENGTHENS A LITTLE BETWEEN LOW PRESSURE OVER THE
SOUTHEAST STATES AND THE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE BAHAMAS...FLORIDA
STRAITS AND SOUTH FLORIDA.

DAB TT 075/093 075/093 075 2635
MCO TT 075/093 075/092 075 2535
MLB TT 076/090 076/090 075 2535

.MLB...NONE.

PUBLIC/MARINE...WIMMER
AVIATION/FIRE WX...GLITTO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 20, 1:59 PM EST, 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
259 PM EDT SAT JUL 20 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

257 PM     TITUSVILLE                FL   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/20/02   BREVARD                        TITUSVILLE POLICE REPORTS
                                          VERY LARGE HAIL OVER THE
                                          SOUTH PART OF TITUSVILLE
                                          ALONG WITH TREE FIRES
                                          STARTED BY LIGHTNING.

Local storm report, Jul 20, 2:27 PM EST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
327 PM EDT SAT JUL 20 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
305 PM     TITUSVILLE                FL   0.75 INCH HAIL
07/20/02   BREVARD                        A CAPE CANAVERAL EMPLOYEE
                                          REPORTED LARGE HAIL IN
                                          DOWNTOWN TITUSVILLE.
                                          SMALL HAIL WAS REPORTED
                                          IN THE MELBOURNE AREA
                                          EARLIER AT 1:36 PM.

Local storm report, Jul 20, 2:32 PM EST, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
332 PM EDT SAT JUL 20 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

230 PM     MELBOURNE                 FL   48 MPH WIND GUST
07/20/02   BREVARD                        THE MELBOURNE INTL
                                          AIRPORT REPORTED WIND
                                          GUST.

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Brevard

When: July 20, 2:57 PM EST
Where: Brevard County, Titusville
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.600, -80.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When: July 20, 5:08 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Apopka
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 28.667, -81.500

Large trees were blown down at Wekiva Springs State Park.

Funnel Cloud, Lake

When: July 20, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Lake County, Leesburg
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.762, -81.711 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A funnel cloud was reported by the Lake County Sheriff's Office in Leesburg.

Hail, Lake

When: July 20, 6:06 PM EST
Where: Lake County, Leesburg
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.800, -81.867

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.
Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, July 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: 5311983, 5311984, 5311985, 5311986.