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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 7, 1:48 PM CST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 248 PM CDT SUN JUL 7 2002 VERY LITTLE CHANGE IN THE UPPER HEIGHT FIELD AS A WEAKNESS CONTINUES OVER THE EASTERN QUARTER OF THE NATION. UPPER RIDGE WILL EXTEND FROM THE PLAINS INTO THE WESTERN STATES. THUS...WEAK MID LEVEL SYNOPTIC FORCING MECHANISMS WILL BE ALLOWED TO STREAM SOUTH AND WEST ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH TUESDAY. A MOIST...EASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW CONTINUES OVER THE REGION IN THE SHORT RANGE AS HIGH PRESSURE LOOKS TO PERSIST OVER THE SOUTHEAST STATES. ONLY SURFACE FOCUS FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEXT COUPLE DAYS WILL BE THAT OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND THE SEABREEZE. STORMS WILL BE OF THE TYPICAL DIURNAL AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING VARIETY FROM AFTERNOON HEATING AND HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER CONTENT (1.5 TO 2 INCHES). MM5 MODEL 3 HR PRECIPITATION FORECAST TRENDS SUPPORTS THIS...WITH DIURNAL AFTERNOON GROWTH OF STORMS...THEN DISSIPATION INTO THE EVENING. ETA MODEL SOUNDINGS SUGGEST THAT DRY AIR ALOFT WILL BE PERSISTENT...TO ALLOW FOR BRIEF STRONG WIND GUSTS IN AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS. SEE NOTHING TO AFFECT NIGHTTIME MINS...SO WILL TAKE A PERSISTENCE APPROACH WHEN CONSIDERING THESE. A SURFACE SOUTHERLY FLOW REGIME CONTINUES TO MODERATE COASTAL MAXES. OVER THE CENTRAL GULF...A BROAD SURFACE CYCLONIC CIRCULATION IS BEING MONITORED BY THE TROPICAL PREDICTION CENTER FOR POTENTIAL TROPICAL DEVELOPMENT. THIS FEATURE WILL BE A NON-PLAYER IN OUR WEATHER AS THE LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE SLOWLY WEST...APPOACHING THE LOWER TEXAS/NORTHERN MEXICAN COAST EARLY IN THE WEEK. EXTENDED RANGE...UPPER TROF DIGS SOUTHEAST OUT OF THE UPPER MID WEST AND BECOMES REINFORCED OVER THE EASTERN STATES. THIS WILL ALLOW A SURFACE TROF TO SETTLE INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK...THEN DISSIPATE INTO THE WEEKEND. DUE TO THE FLOW...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY. TEMPERATURES WILL REFLECT LITTLE CHANGE. /10 MARITIMES...WEAK PATTERN CONTINUES OVER THE MARINE AREA INTO EARLY WEEK. AVN MODEL BRINGS OFFSHORE WIND AROUND/AFTER MIDWEEK DUE TO CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK INDUCED LOW INGRESSING INTO THE AREA...BUT AM NOT BEING LED DOWN THAT PRIMROSE PATH. MAINLY KEEPING CONTINUITY/PERSISTENCE WITH WEAK TROF PERSISTING NORTH OF THE COASTAL WATERS INTO THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEK. SEABREEZE AND INVERTED TROF WILL MAKE WINDS LIGHT AND VARIABLE...OFFSHORE COMPONENT OVERNIGHT AND AN ONSHORE COMPONENT DURING THE AFTERNOONS. OTHERWISE...LITTLE CHANGE IN WIND AND SEAS. FIRE...NO FLAGS NEEDED AS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE PLENTY OF RAIN TO KEEP RELATIVE HUMIDITIES ABOVE CRITICAL LEVELS. DISPERSION MODERATE...IN 40S. /77 PRELIM NUMBERS... MOB 74 90 74 90 / 20 40 20 30 PNS 76 89 75 89 / 20 30 20 30 DTS 77 88 76 88 / 20 30 20 30 GZH 72 92 71 92 / 20 40 20 30 2R0 72 92 72 92 / 30 40 20 30 61A 72 92 72 92 / 20 40 20 30 .MOB... AL...NONE. FL...NONE. MS...NONE.
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:17 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck an apartment complex on Pensacola Beach and started a fire. Significant damage was done to the apartment before the fire was put out. No one was injured in the blaze.
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: 5311082.