1 rip current, 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 Jacksonville, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 27, 1:15 PM EST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 215 PM EDT MON MAY 27 2002 CURRENT...WHILE COASTAL TROUGH HAS WEAKENED FROM EARLIER TODAY HAS BEEN ENOUGH TO TRIGGER SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY FROM JACKSONVILLE SOUTH. WHILE 12Z SOUNDING WAS QUITE DRY OVERALL... COOLER AIR IN THE MID LEVELS AND PRETTY GOOD MOISTURE IN THE LOWEST LAYERS ARE HELPING SUSTAIN THE CONVECTION. EXPECT SHOWERS TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET WITH LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. FORECAST DEPENDS HEAVILY ON EVOLUTION OF PESKY AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CURRENTLY OVER NW CARIBBEAN SEA. CURRENT OBS AND SATELLITE SHOW BROAD LOW WITH INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDING INTO THE NORTHERN BAHAMAS. MODELS UNANIMOUSLY WANT TO EJECT A LOW NORTH FROM THIS AREA DURING THE NEXT 72 HOURS...BUT THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THE SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM IS UNCLEAR. 12Z AVN AND YESTERDAYS 12Z ECMWF LIFTS INVERTED SLOWLY NORTH INTO SOUTHERN FLORIDA AND THEN SPLITS OFF A SECONDARY LOW WHICH RACES NORTHEAST. THE ORIGINAL LOW SLOWLY MOVES NORTH ALONG THE PENSINSULA OR JUST OFFSHORE. THIS WOULD YIELD A RATHER WET SOLUTION FOR NE FL/SE GA WITH ONSHORE FLOW AND DEEP MOISTURE. 12Z ETA AND CANADIAN ARE QUITE SIMILAR DEVELOPING A MORE CONSOLIDATED LOW CENTER IN THE NORTHER BAHAMAS BY TUESDAY PM AND SLOWLY LIFTING IT NORTH TO NEAR THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST BY THURSDAY MORNING. SUCH A SOLUTION WOULD LEAD TO MAINLY OFFSHORE FLOW FOR OUR AREA MEANING MUCH DRIER WEATHER. OUTLIER SEEMS TO BE 12Z UKMET WHICH ON HAS LOW REACHING ONLY AS FAR NORTH AS SOUTH FLORIDA BY THURSDAY AM. PUBLIC...COMPROMISE SEEMS TO BE IN ORDER FOR TODAY. WILL TAKE A ROUGH AVERAGE BETWEEN THE ETA AND AVN FOR NOW REGARDING MOVEMENT AND STRENGTH OF LOW PRESSURE. HOPEFULLY GUIDANCE WILL COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT AS SYSTEM TAKES SHAPE OVER NEXT 24 HOURS. FOR NOW...COMPROMISE SOLUTION MATCHES CLOSELY WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST. WILL LIKELY BUMP POPS UP A BIT FOR TUESDAY AS COOL POCKET AT H5 IS FORECAST TO REMAIN OVERHEAD WHICH SHOULD HELP FIRE OFF CONVECTION SIMILAR TO TODAY. EXTENDED...FIRST PART OF EXTENDED DEPENDS ALOT ON WHERE LOW PRESSURE ENDS UP. FOR NOW WILL LEAN TOWARDS PREVIOUS FCST. FOR SUNDAY/MONDAY...LOOKS LIKE UPPER PATTERN TO FLATTEN OUT WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPING BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. MARINE...NO MAJOR CHANGES TO PREVIOUS FCST. MAY BUMP UP SEAS A BIT. MOON IS FULL AND WINDS ARE ONSHORE BUT TIDES EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW MINOR FLOOD LEVELS. HEAVY SURF MAY BE NEEDED DOWN THE ROAD DEPENDING ON EVOLUTION OF LOW PRESSURE. PRELIM CCF... AMG BB 063/088 064/085 066 250-- SSI BE 070/081 069/082 069 25-21 JAX EE 065/083 064/083 066 25242 SGJ EE 071/082 069/082 069 25242 GNV BE 064/087 065/088 066 25242 OCF BE 065/088 066/089 067 25242 .JAX... .GA...NONE. .FL...NONE. CAMP/ARS/HESS
NORTHEAST FLORIDA/SOUTHEAST GEORGIA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL 1225 PM EDT MON MAY 27 2002 FLZ020>023-030>032-035>037-040-GAZ132>136-149>153-162>165-272330- ALACHUA-APPLING-ATKINSON-BACON-BAKER-BRADFORD-BRANTLEY- CAMDEN (INLAND)-CHARLTON-CLAY-CLINCH-COFFEE-COLUMBIA-ECHOLS- GILCHRIST-GLYNN (INLAND)-HAMILTON-JEFF DAVIS-MARION-PIERCE-PUTNAM- SUWANNEE-UNION-WARE-WAYNE- 1225 PM EDT MON MAY 27 2002 ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY WHICH CAN PRODUCE FREQUENTLY LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINFALL. PERSONS OUTDOORS THIS AFTERNOON SHOULD TRY TO SEEK SHELTER IF YOU HEAR SOUNDS OF THUNDER OR NOTICE THREATENING SKIES. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST TODAY AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV. FLZ024-025-033-038-GAZ154-166-272330- CAMDEN (COASTAL)-DUVAL-FLAGLER-GLYNN (COASTAL)-NASSAU-ST JOHNS- 1225 PM EDT MON MAY 27 2002 ...STRONG RIP CURRENT THREAT... RIP CURRENTS...OR RUN OUTS...WILL PRESENT ALONG THE NORTHEAST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA BEACHES DUE TO INCREASING ONSHORE WINDS AND EAST SWELLS. FOR SAFETY...SWIM ONLY AT GUARDED BEACHES AND HEED THE ADVICE OF THE LIFEGUARDS OR BEACH PATROL. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY WHICH CAN PRODUCE FREQUENTLY LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINFALL. PERSONS OUTDOORS THIS AFTERNOON SHOULD TRY TO SEEK SHELTER IF YOU HEAR SOUNDS OF THUNDER OR NOTICE THREATENING SKIES. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV. ECZ/ARS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Tourist, caught in Rip Current drowned approximately 200 yards off the beach.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Nassau | 2002-05-27 | 45 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, 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: 5290567.