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 Jul 26, 1:30 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 230 PM EDT FRI JUL 26 2002 CURRENT/TONIGHT...DLM RIDGE AXIS REMAINS ACROSS THE CWA WITH SOME DRIER AIR SEEN ON WV IMAGERY WORKING INTO THE SRN CWA. SOME CONVECTION OCCURRING NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE RIDGE AXIS WITH VERY LITTLE ACTIVITY IN THE CEN SECTIONS. NOT EXPECTING TO NEED POPS ALONG THE COAST...BUT EXPECT BOUNDARY COLLISIONS WILL REQUIRE LOW END SCT POPS ACROSS THE NRN INTERIOR. SHOULD BE ANOTHER MUGGY NIGHT WITH LOWS INT THE MID 70S. SAT-MON...SFC BERMUDA RIDGE AXIS WILL GENERALLY REMAIN ACROSS CEN FL ALTHOUGH SOME GUIDANCE SUGGESTS IT MAY MEANDER SLGHTY SOUTH TOWARDS LAKE OKEECHOBEE OVER THE WEEKEND. STRONG H5 ANTICYCLONE OVER THE ATL CENTERED JUST NORTH OF THE BAHAMAS WILL DRIFT SLIGHTLY WEST SAT. BY SUN THE H5 HIGH WILL JOIN WITH A HIGH CENTER MVG ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH TO PRODUCE ONE LARGE HIGH CENTER OVER GA. AN UPR LOW IN THE ERLYS (SHOWN WEAKER AND WITH LESS LOW LVL REFLECTION THAN YESTERDAY) WILL MOVE THRU THE BAHAMAS SUN AND INTO THE ERN GOMEX BY LATE MON. A WEAK 40-50 KT ERLY JET BETWEEN THE TWO FEATURES WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CWA SUN POSSIBLY PROVIDING SOME MODEST UPR DIVERGENCE. DRIER AIR SEEN ON WV IMAGERY UNDER THE HIGH PRESSURE CENTER HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO MOVE INTO SRN SECTIONS AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT INTO THE CWA...ESP SOUTH OF THE CAPE. FOR THE FORECAST...INTERIOR AND NRN SECTIONS WILL REMAIN FAVORED FOR CONVECTION EACH DAY DUE TO THE POSITION OF RIDGE AXIS AND MOISTURE...BUT EVEN SO POPS WILL REMAIN BELOW CLIMO ALL ZONES GIVEN THE HIGH HIGHS AND WARMING MID LVL TEMPS ASSOC W/ THE UPR HIGH. WITH DRIER AIR AND THE SEA BREEZE MOVING INLAND QUICKLY ACROSS THE SOUTH WILL LOWER POPS TO ISOLD ALONG THE COAST SOUTH OF THE CAPE AND CONTINUE TO WORD FOR TSTMS GENERALLY WEST OF THE INTERSTATE. OTHERWISE POPS WILL REMAIN 30-40 PERCENT. HIGH TEMPS WILL REMAIN WARM GIVEN THE H5 HIGH CENTER NEAR BY AND WILL CONTINUE WITH 92 TO 95 DEG F FORCAST FOR THE INTERIOR THRU SUN KEEPING MORE W/ THE FWC NUMBERS. ON MON...SRN SECTIONS APPEAR TO BE FAVORED FOR CONVECTION AS THE NRN SECTIONS REMAIN ON THE UNFAVORABLE NW SIDE OF THE UPR LOW. POPS WILL REMAIN BELOW CLIMO...WITH TEMPS NEAR NORMAL. EXTENDED (TUE-FRI)...MED RANGE MODELS SHOW THE AFOREMENTIONED UPR LOW MVG INTO THE ERN GULF WHERE IT FINDS A WEAKNESS BETWEEN RIDGES AND SLOWS DRAMATICALLY. THE EXTENDED AVN SHOWS A POSITIVELY TILTED TROF LOW LVL TROF DEVELOPING AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE MID ATLANTIC INTO THE DEEP SOUTH. THIS REPLACES THE DEEP ERN US TROF THE MODEL HAVE BEEN SHOWING. EITHER WAY...THIS PROVIDES SW/W STEERING FLOW DEVELOPING WED AND CONTINUING INTO FRI WITH THE LOW LEVEL RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING OVER THE BAHAMAS AND S/CEN FL. MOISTURE LEVELS LOOK NORMAL AND SEE NOTHING TO SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPRESS CONVECTION...SO WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM CLIMO SCT POPS THROUGH THE EXTENDED. INTERIOR SECTIONS ARE SLIGHTLY FAVORED FOR POPS TUE IN LIGHT WIND FLOW...HOWEVER COASTAL SECTIONS MAY BE FAVORED SLIGHTLY SHOULD THE SW/W STEERING FLOW VERIFY LATER IN THE PERIODS. TEMPS WILL BE NEAR CLIMO FOR MOST PART...BUT POSSIBLY A DEGREE OR TWO ABOVE NORMAL ALONG THE NRN COAST SHOULD OFFSHORE FLOW DEVELOP AS PROGGED WED THRU FRI. MARINE...LIGHT WINDS CONTINUE WITH RIDGE AXIS OVERHEAD. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... DAB BB 074/092 074/092 075 131 MCO BB 075/093 075/093 075 232 MLB BB 076/090 076/091 075 131= .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE...GITTINGER AVIATION/FIRE WX...SPRATT
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:57 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 19 year old man was struck and seriously injured by lightning while riding on a personal water craft.
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, July 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: 5311992.