Dust Devil, Hillsborough
- When
- May 10, 3:45 PM EST
- Where
- Hillsborough County, 2 mi S of Riverview
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.906, -82.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Dust Devil in Florida, May 10, 2002
A brief dust devil was reported on a vacant lot 2 miles north of Big Bend Road on federal highway 301. The swirl was reported to be several thousand feet in height.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- 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 happened
The episode as NWS TBW wrote it up.
A brief dust devil was reported on a vacant lot 2 miles north of Big Bend Road on federal highway 301. The swirl was reported to be several thousand feet in height. No damage was reported.
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 May 10, 1:25 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 10, 1:25 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
225 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 2002
CURRENTLY...MOSTLY SUNNY...A LITTLE MORE CU THAN YESTERDAY WITH
TEMPS A SMIDGE LOWER THAN AT THIS TIME THU. WINDS STARTING TO
SWITCH TO ONSHORE ALONG THE COAST. DEEP LAYER RIDGING CONTINUES...
UPPER RIDGE CENTERED CENTRAL FL TO EAST GULF WITH SURFACE RIDGE
AXIS IN NORTH FLORIDA.
DISCUSSION/FORECAST(TONITE-MON)...UPPER RIDGE TO HANG OVER GULF
AND FL AS SURFACE RIDGE CREEPS NORTH WITH THE GRADIENT TIGHTENING
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA FOR THE WEEKEND. THEN ON MONDAY THE UPPER
RIDGE STARTS TO BREAK DOWN AS A TROUGH DROPS INTO THE LOWER MISS.
RIVER VALLEY AND THE SURFACE RIDGE SLIDES SOUTH AND EAST AS A
WEAKENING COLD FRONT PUSHES INTO THE CENTRAL GULF. AVN AND MAV
GUIDANCE HAVE BEEN VERIFYING BETTER AND WILL LEAN TOWARD THEM.
WILL KEEP THE FORECAST GENERALLY STATUS QUO...DRY AND WARM WITH
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S AND LOWS UPPER 60S TO 70. WHILE THE LOW LEVEL
FLOW DOES INCREASE FROM THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST COASTAL LOCATIONS CAN
STILL EXPECT SEA BREEZES...ALTHOUGH LATER EACH DAY AND CLOSER TO THE
COAST. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE THE TRANSITION DAY ON MONDAY WHEN WINDS
BEGIN TO SHIFT IN ADVANCE OF THE APPROACHING FRONT AND THE INTERIOR
ZONES COULD SEE SOME PCPN.
MARINE...NO HIGH LIGHTS EXPECTED. WINDS INCREASE SOME FROM E/SE
BUT NEAR SHORE WATERS CAN STILL EXPECT AN AFTERNOON SEA BREEZE.
WINDS BEGIN TO VEER AROUND IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD BUT REMAIN UNDER
UNDER ANY CRITICAL SPEEDS.
FIRE WEATHER...RED FLAG FOR TODAY WILL BE DROPPED WHEN THE AFTERNOON
FIRE WEATHER FORECAST IS SHORTLY ISSUED. A FIRE WEATHER WATCH WILL
BE IN EFFECT SAT FOR ALL COUNTIES EXCEPT PINELLAS AND LOCATIONS
WITHIN 10 MILES OF THE COAST.
DISCUSSION/FORECAST EXTENDED(TUE-FRI)...MRF BRINGS FRONT ACROSS CWFA
TUE AND WED WITH SOME PREMISE FOR RAINFALL BUT BULK OF MOISTURE AND
ENERGY LIFTS UP THE NORTHEAST SO WILL KEEP CURRENT SLIGHT CHANCE TO
ISOLATED POPS IN WITH SOME TEMPS CLOSER TO CLIMO.
RECORDS FOR TODAY
TPA...92 (1974)
SG...91 (1985)
SRQ...92 (1995)
ALL...95 (1955)
FMY...94 (1955)
PRELIMINARY NUMBERS
BKV 064/092 066/091 0000
TPA 072/091 069/091 0000
GIF 069/093 068/092 0000
SRQ 069/091 069/090 0000
FMY 068/093 069/093 0000
.TBW...FIRE WEATHER WATCH SATURDAY FOR INTERIOR SECTIONS OF LEVY...
CITRUS...HERNANDO...PASCO...HILLSBOROUGH...MANATEE...SARASOTA...
CHARLOTTE...AND LEE AS WELL AS ALL OF SUMTER...POLK...DESOTO...
HARDEE...AND HIGHLANDS COUNTIES.
RKRThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Rip Current in Florida, May 10, 2002
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 10, 2002
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 10, 2002
- Flooding in Alaska, May 10 to 13, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 10, 2002
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 10 to 11, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Hail in South Carolina, May 10 to 11, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, May 10, 2002
- High Wind in California, May 10 to 11, 2002
- Flooding in Wisconsin, May 10 to 12, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Carolina, May 10, 2002
- Hail in Georgia, May 10, 2002
More
Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 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: 5291440.