Florida, 2002

Lightning Strike in Florida, July 4, 2002

July 4, 2002 · NWS MOB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, 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
2
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
230 PM CDT THU JUL 4 2002

AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DROPPING SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA
DURING THE AFTERNOON LOOKS SIMILIAR TO WEDNESDAYS RADAR. THESE ALSO
SHOULD DIE OUT DURING THE EARLY EVENING. WILL NEED TO HAVE HIGHER
EVENING POPS OVER MOST ZONES. UPPER LOW THAT WAS FORECAST TO DRIFT
WEST ACROSS AREA HAS BEEN WEAKEND TO A MID LEVEL TROUGH WITH AN
ASSOCIATED  WEAK SURFACE LOW/TROUGH TRACKING ACROSS AREA THROUGH
FIRST HALF OF WEEKEND. BY SUNDAY...SURFACE RIDGE DEVELOPS ACROSS
FORECAST REGION FROM THE EAST AND WE RETURN TO A EASTERLY LOW LEVEL
FLOW AND A NORTHWEST MID/UPPER LEVEL FLOW AROUND H5 HIGH OVER
CENTRAL PLAINS. THIS PATTERN CONTINUES FROM EARLY NEXT WEEK THROUGH
MOST OF WEEK...WITH INSTABILITIES AND MOISTURE REMAINING SUFFICIENT
FOR THE CONTINUATION OF SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD.

MARINE...HIGH PRESSURE OVER AREA WILL RESULT IN VARIABLE FLOW OVER
MARINE ZONES INTO FRIDAY...WITH NEAR SHORE AREAS SEEING GULF BREEZE
WINDS EACH DAY. SURFACE TROUGH WILL DEVELOP OVER SOUTHEASTERN CONUS
FRIDAY...WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW BECOMING ESTABLISHED INTO MONDAY...WITH
SOUTHERLY FLOW BECOMING VARIABLE THEREAFTER AS HIGH PRESSURE BECOME
RE-ESTABLISHED.

FIRE...NO PROBLEMS INTO FRIDAY NOTED. ETA OVERDOING WARM TEMPS/DRY
AIR PUSH INTO AREA(SFC TEMPS >100F IN SOME AREAS)...THUS THREATENING
TO PUSH RH VALUES INTO FIRE WX WATCH CRITERIA INLAND SECTIONS OF FL
FOR SATURDAY. AM NOT BUYING IT AT THIS TIME. /11/16

PRELIM NUMBERS...
MOB TB 072/091 073/092 074 11553
PNS TB 073/091 074/092 075 11453
DTS TB 074/088 075/089 076 11453
GZH BB 071/091 071/093 072 11332
2RO BB 071/091 071/093 072 11332
61A BB 071/091 071/093 072 11332

.MOB...
AL...NONE.
FL...NONE.
MS...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Santa Rosa

When
July 4, 2:45 PM CST
Where
Santa Rosa County, Munson
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
30.693, -87.018 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Two people were outside barbequing at a local campground when they were struck by lightning. They were both taken to a local hospital, examined and later released.

What these are

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: 5311153.