1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 2:00 PM EST, 2 hours earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 300 PM EDT TUE MAY 14 2002 ...RETURN OF SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES... CURRENTLY...NORTHEAST WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT ARE PUSHING A BOUNDARY SOUTHWEST ACROSS ORANGE...OSCEOLA AND BREVARD COUNTIES. THIS BOUNDARY ENHANCED THE CONVECTION OVER MERRITT ISLAND AND THE CAPE EARLIER TODAY. ANY SHOWERS/STORMS THAT INTERACT WITH THIS BOUNDARY WILL PULSE UP... POSSIBLY PRODUCING A QUICK DOWNBURST WIND GUST AND SMALL HAIL. THIS SEA BREEZE WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP DOWN THE COASTS OF BREVARD AND INDIAN RIVER THIS EVE. READ THE LATEST SHORT TERM FORECAST FOR THE LATEST INFO ON THE STORMS. WED...SFC HIGH BUILDS OVER THE AREA PRODUCING STRONG ONSHORE WINDS. WILL GO WINDY ALONG THE COAST AND BREEZY INLAND. MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH DISSIPATING FRONT WILL STILL BE LINGERING ACROSS OUR FAR SOUTHERN SECTIONS. WILL INTRODUCE A 20 POP FOR SHOWERS IN MARTIN COUNTY. TEMPS WILL BE MORE SEASONABLE FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR... POSSIBLY A DEGREE OR TWO BELOW NORMAL. THU...MESOETA BRINGS DRIER AIR SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS THE AREA AT H7 AND H85 WITH NO RAIN...SIMILAR TO NGM. HOWEVER...AVN IS MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH RETURNING DEEP MOISTURE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF AND LIKELY POPS SOUTH. HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP THU DRY FOR NOW BUT CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH. UPPER HEIGHTS REBUILD SOME...TO 588DM...BUT THAT IS NOT VERY SUPPRESSIVE. ANOTHER DAY OF SEASONABLE DAYTIME TEMPS. FRI...RIDGE AXIS SLIPS SOUTHWARD AND PRODUCES LOW LEVEL SSW WINDS. WILL INTRODUCE A SMALL POP ALL SECTIONS AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND A SLOW MOVING SEA BREEZE SHOULD SPARK CONVECTION. UPPER HEIGHTS ALSO LOWER IN RESPONSE TO DEEPENING EASTERN U.S. TROUGH. EXTENDED...WILL KEEP CHANCE OF CONVECTION FOR THE WEEKEND AS NEXT COLD FRONT APPROACHES. EXACT TIMING IS DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT THIS FAR OUT BUT WIND SHIFT EXPECTED TO OCCUR SUNDAY. HIGH PRESSURE PROGGED TO BUILD OVER THE AREA MON AND TUE WITH STIFF ONSHORE WINDS...VERY SIMILAR TO THIS CURRENT FRONTAL PASSAGE. MARINE...INCREASING NORTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO SURGE DOWN THE COAST INTO THIS EVENING. WILL EXPAND EXERCISE CAUTION TO THE SOUTH LEG FOR 15 TO 20 KNOTS. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT WILL KEEP A STOUT ONSHORE GRADIENT WITH ADVISORY CRITERIA EXPECTED SOUTH LEG WED. AS SFC HIGH PUSHES WELL OFFSHORE AND NEXT FRONT APPROACHES...WINDS WILL VEER TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST AND GRADIENT WIND WILL DECREASE BY LATE WEEK. NEXT FRONTAL PASSAGE SET FOR SUNDAY WHICH LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO TODAY. FIRE WEATHER...TOMORROW WILL BE AN INTERESTING FIRE WX DAY AS MODELS INDICATE STRONG EASTERLY FLOW WITH SOME DRIER AIR ASSOC W/ TODAYS FROPA. ERLY WIND DIRECTION USUALLY DOES NOT CREATE FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS AS THE AIRMASS WILL BE MODIFIED BY THE ATL...HOWEVER STILL EXPECT SOME RH VALUES IN THE UPR 30S IN FAR INTERIOR SECTIONS AS HIGHS REACH 85 TO 88 AND DEWPOINTS STAY IN THE LOWER 60S. MODELS INDICATE WINDY CONDITIONS TOMORROW W/ TRANSPORT WINDS AT 22 MPH. THIS IS PRODUCING VERY HIGH DISPERSION INDICES PROMPTING A FIRE WX WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE CWA...ALTHOUGH INTERIOR SECTIONS WILL BE A HIGHER THREAT WITH LOWER RH. PRELIM... DAB BB 064/083 066/084 068 28000 MCO BB 065/087 066/087 069 28000 MLB BB 070/084 072/083 071 28111= .MLB...FIRE WEATHER WATCH ALL OF EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY. PUBLIC/MARINE...KELLY AVIATION/FIRE WX...GITTINGER
AMZ550-555-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147-142100- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1100 AM EDT TUE MAY 14 2002 ...SCATTERED LIGHTNING STORMS THIS AFTERNOON...SOME STRONG... AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG COLD FRONT FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR IS MOVING DOWN THE PENINSULA AND WILL REACH SOUTH FLORIDA TONIGHT. SCATTERED LIGHTNING STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON...MAINLY SOUTH OF THE ORLANDO METRO AREA. COOL DRY AIR ALOFT...COMBINED WITH SURFACE HEATING AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...WILL ALLOW SOME OF THE STORMS TO BECOME STRONG. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE DOWNBURST WINDS UP TO 55 MPH... SMALL HAIL AND OF COURSE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. ANY STORMS THAT INTERACT WITH THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE WILL BE WATCHED CAREFULLY. THE THREAT OF LIGHTNING STORMS IS RAPIDLY DIMINISHING BEHIND THE FRONT ACROSS LAKE...SEMINOLE AND VOLUSIA COUNTIES. SEEK SHELTER IN AN ENCLOSED BUILDING IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. THE GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/HWOFILES/HWOMAIN.HTML KELLY
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:01 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A small F0 tornado touched down briefly in a truck repair facility, damaging the roof of one structure and destroying large awnings attached to the truck garage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2002Warnings in Florida, May 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: 5288807.