Florida, 2002

Hail and Lightning Strikes in Florida, July 4, 2002

July 4, 2002 · NWS MLB · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

2 lightning, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
8
Property damage
$20,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 4, 1:00 PM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:00 PM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
2 PM EDT THU JUL 4 2002

WEAK VORT LOBE ROTATING AROUND BACKSIDE OF BROAD UPPER TROF
PROVIDING HIGH COVERAGE OF SHRA AND TS OVER AREAS JUST W OF FCST
AREA. WITH FEATURE MOVING FARTHER S AND E COMBINDED WITH OUTFLOWS
FROM CURRENT CONVECTION AND AN ECSB...COVERAGE SHOULD BE HIGH OVER
MUCH OF ECFL DURING THE EVE HOURS. WILL LKLY UP TO A 50 POP FOR THIS
EVE. FEW STORMS NEAR SVR POSBL WITH ENUF MID LEVEL DRY AIR AND A
GOOD AMT OF SOLAR INSOLATION TODAY OVER THE AREA. SLOW STORM MOTION
WILL KEEP A HVY RAFL/FLOOD THREAT GOING AS WELL.

RELATIVELY AMBIGUOUS WEAK LOW LEVEL FLOW TO CONTINUE ON FRI/SAT.
NOSE OF ATLC RIDGE ACROSS THE BAHAMAS INTO S FL WITH SUBTLE SFC TROF
OVER THE NE GULF EXTENDING INTO LOW OFF THE NE CONUS COAST. SFC TROF
WILL BE RELATIVELY PERSISTANT UNTIL N BRANCH UPPER TROF AMPLIFIES
AND SHIFTS E. TRAILING LOW WILL THEN RETROGRADE ACROSS THE N GULF.
WEAK SW-S FLOW WILL BACK TO SE ON SUNDAY/MONDAY AS RIDGE BUILDS TO
THE N.

FRI...STILL ADDTNL MID LEVEL VORT ENERGY TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA
WITH TROF REMAINING IN THE AREA. WEAK SW-S LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL SLOW
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEA BREEZE AND PROVIDE ADDTNL CONVERGENCE. WITH
NO SIG CHG TO PCP WATER VALUES SHOULD HAVE SIMILAR COVERAGE OF
STORMS. WILL UP POPS TO 50 PCT. LIGHT STEERING FLOW TOWARDS THE
COAST WILL CONTINUE HVY RAFL POTENTIAL.

SAT...FLOW BEGINS TO BACK AS ATLC RIDGE RETREATS AND TROF/LOW TO THE
N RETROGRADES. EXPECT AN EARLIER SEA BREEZE DVLPMNT. MID LEVEL TROF
IS A BIT WEAKER SO CURRENT 40 POPS LOOK GOOD.

SUN...FLOW TRANSITIONS TO SE WITH RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE MID ATLC
COAST. CURRETN FCST TRANSITIONSING TO EARLY SHRA/TS OVER THE COASTAL
CTYS WITH INLAND AFTN TS LOOKS GOOD.

EXTENDED...SE-E FLOW CONTINUES INTO MID WEEK AS RIDGE SLIDES SOUTH.
AXIS WILL BEGIN TO MOVE THROUGH CENTRAL FL ON WED WITH A TRANSITION
TO CONVECTIVE ACTVTY OVER THE ERN SIDGE OF THE STATE ON THUR.

MARINE...NO HIGHLIGHTS. WEAK LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL BE DOMINATED BY
AFTN SEA BREEZE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE NEARSHORE AND INTRACOASTAL
WATERS. WEAK SFC RIDGE FROM THE BAHMAS WILL YIELD TO STRONGER RIDGE
MOVING IN FROM THE SOUTH EARLY NEXT WEEK. FEW STORMS WITH GUSTY
WINDS MOVING OFFSHORE THIS EVENING AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY.

PRELIM...
DAB WW 072/090 071/089 073 3523
MCO WW 072/091 072/091 073 3534
MLB WW 073/089 073/088 074 4534

.MLB...NONE.

PUBLIC/MARINE...BLOTTMAN
AVIATION/FIRE WX...VOLKMER

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Brevard

When
July 4, 2:12 PM EST
Where
Brevard County, Scottsmoor
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
28.767, -80.867

Lightning, Volusia

When
July 4, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Volusia County, Daytona Beach
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
29.063, -81.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning started a fire that damaged an apartment building in Daytona Beach.

Lightning, Volusia

When
July 4, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Volusia County, Daytona Beach
Injuries
8 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
29.063, -81.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Eight spectators were struck and injured by lightning at Daytona Beach International Speedway. Two of the victims were hospitalized. Six were treated and released at the scene.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5311920, 5311921, 5311922.