High Wind in Florida, March 2, 2002

Name: High Wind in Florida, March 2, 2002
Start: 2002-03-02T11:00
End: 2002-03-02T18:00
Location: Florida

March 2, 2002 · NWS TBW · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: $7,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 happened

The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.

A departing high pressure system combined with an approaching cold front to produce strong and gusty south winds across the central coastal counties from late morning through the afternoon. Sustained winds ranged from 25 to 30 mph, with a period of gusts in excess of 40 mph between noon and 2 pm. Minor damage was noted across the area, including roof trusses from a building which was under construction in Holiday (Pasco Co). A portion of decaying outer paneling was stripped at a multi-unit residence in Winter Haven by estimated 40 to 50 mph gusts. Several vendor tents were blown down at a weekend celebration in Cape Coral (Lee Co), and a sailing competition was cancelled due to the gusts. The winds enhanced a small brush fire along highway 41 in Charlotte Co. A few large limbs were reported down in Brooksville (Hernando Co), just north of the area of strongest winds.

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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 2, 9:37 AM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 2, 9:37 AM EST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
937 AM EST SAT MAR 2 2002

88D RETURNS INDICATE A LARGE AREA OF ONGOING CONVECTION CONTINUING
OVER THE NORTHEASTERN GULF WATERS IN ASSOCIATION WITH WARM FRONTAL
BOUNDARY AND LARGE MCS SOUTH OF THE PANHANDLE EARLY THIS MORNING.
SOUTHERN MOST EDGE OF THIS CONVECTION NOW EFFECTING LEVY COUNTY...
OTHERWISE JUST A MIX OF CLOUDS AND SUN BEING REPORTED OVER THE
REMAINDER OF THE FA.

SATELLITE AND 88D TRENDS FOR THE PAST FEW HOURS INDICATE THAT ABOVE
MENTIONED CONVECTION CONTINUES TO MOVE TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST.
THIS TREND SHOULD CONTINUE AS AREA OF CONVECTION ENCOUNTERS THE VERY
STRONG (40-50 KNOT) SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW NOW ACROSS THE
PENINSULA...LEAVING MUCH OF THE CWA IN WARM MOIST WINDY SECTOR. NOW
THE FORECAST PROBLEM FOR THE REST OF THE DAY IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW
MUCH IF ANY PRECIP WE WILL SEE. WITH MAIN SHORT WAVE ENERGY MOVING
NEWD VIA WATER VAPOR LOOP...ONGOING CONVECTION WITHIN THE MCS OVER
THE NERN GULF SHOULD BEGIN TO WEAKEN THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AS IT
LIFTS NEWD. 12Z RAOB DATA DOES SHOW IMPRESSIVE SHEAR (HELICITY 645
M2/S2) AND SUFFICIENT MOISTURE TO SUPPORT SOME POPS CENTRAL AND
SOUTH WITHIN THE WARM SECTOR...HOWEVER MARGINAL INSTABILITY AND LACK
OF ANY REAL FOCUSING MECHANISM SHOULD TEND TO KEEP POP CHANCES
LIMITED TO SOME EXTENT....WHICH IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY 06Z MESO-ETA.
ATTM THINK BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO KEEP POPS HIGHEST NORTHERN
MOST ZONES...AND TWEAK POPS DOWN SLIGHTLY FURTHER SOUTH...BUT WILL
EVALUATE THE SITUATION A WHILE LONGER BEFORE DECIDING JUST HOW MUCH.
WITH 40-50 KNOTS OF WIND JUST OF THE DECK AND MIXING GETTING UNDERWAY
WILL LEAVE WINDY WORDING AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS ON AREA LAKES AS
IS.

MARINE...TIGHT GRADIENT SUPPORTING SCA CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT AND NO
CHANGES PLANNED IN 1030 AM UPDATE.

FIRE WX...RED FLAG WARNING CONTINUES ALL ZONES DUE TO HIGH DISPERSION
VALUES.

.TBW...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY BONITA BEACH TO SUWANNEE RIVER OUT 60NM
       INCLUDING TAMPA BAY.
      .RED FLAG WARNING ALL ZONES DUE TO HIGH DISPERSION VALUES.

MCMICHAEL

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 2, 5:00 AM EST, 6 hours before

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-021400-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
500 AM EST SAT MAR 2 2002

THE COMBINATION OF A LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST
UNITED STATES THIS MORNING...ALONG WITH A STRONG AREA OF HIGH
PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC...WILL PRODUCE BREEZY TO WINDY
CONDITIONS TODAY ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.
THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THIS MORNING...
ESPECIALLY NORTH TAMPA BAY. HOWEVER...STRONG OR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE NOT EXPECTED.

FOR MARINE INTERESTS...DUE TO THE RELATIVELY STRONG WINDS AND
INCREASING SEAS...A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR ALL
OF THE EASTERN GULF WATERS...INCLUDING TAMPA BAY. BOATERS SHOULD
ALSO EXERCISE CAUTION ON ANY AREA LAKES THIS AFTERNOON SINCE WINDS
ARE EXPECTED TO GUST TO NEAR 30 MPH.

DUE TO THE WINDY CONDITIONS...THREAT FOR THE SPREAD OF ANY WILD
FIRES WILL BE VERY HIGH TODAY. BE EXTRA CAUTIOUS WHEN HANDLING ANY
OUTDOOR FIRE SOURCE THIS AFTERNOON.

MORALES

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Sarasota

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Sarasota forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Manatee

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Manatee forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pinellas

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Pinellas forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 27.903, -82.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hillsborough

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pasco

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Pasco forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Polk

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 27.949, -81.698 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Charlotte

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Charlotte forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Lee

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

High Wind, De Soto

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: De Soto forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 27.186, -81.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hardee

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Hardee forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 27.493, -81.810 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Highlands

When: March 2, 11:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where: Highlands forecast zone
Reported by: UNKNOWN
Coordinates: 27.343, -81.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, March 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: 5281024, 5281025, 5281026, 5281027, 5281028, 5281029, 5281030, 5281031, 5281032, 5281033, 5281034.