Flash Flood and Flood in Florida, May 30, 2002

Name: Flash Flood and Flood in Florida, May 30, 2002
Start: 2002-05-30T15:55
End: 2002-05-30T21:15
Location: Florida

May 30, 2002 · NWS MLB · 14 events in 5 counties and zones

10 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 30, 1:00 PM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 1:00 PM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
2 PM EDT THU MAY 30 2002

AS EXPECTED COASTAL SEA BREEZE BOUNDARIES WERE MOVING INLAND WITH
INITIAL STORM DEVELOPMENT FOCUSED ALONG THE WEST COAST BOUNDARY.
WITH AFTERNOON HEATING STORMS SHOULD INCREASE IN COVERAGE OVER THE
INTERIOR AS BOUNDARIES INCREASINGLY INTERACT. SPECIAL AFTERNOON
SOUNDING AT CAPE CANAVERAL SHOWS A SINGLE CAP OF ABOUT 2C AT THE H75
LEVEL AND H5 TEMPS HAVE WARMED A COUPLE OF DEGREES TO -8C FROM THE
MORNING RELEASE. AM STILL EXPECTING DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG TO SEVERE
STORMS OVER THE INTERIOR.

TONIGHT/FRI...UPPER LOW OVER THE NORTHERN GULF DRIFTS SOUTH WARD
WHILE INCREASINGLY CUTOFF. ASCD JET MAXIMA NOSES ACROSS SOUTH FL.
PARCEL ASCENT WL BE ENHANCED AFTER NIGHTFALL WITH LINGERING STORMS
FROM LARGE SCALE BOUNDARY COLLISION OVER THE INTERIOR CONTINUING TO
MOVE TOWARD THE ATLANTIC COAST. NOT SEEING A RAPID EWD DUE TO
STEERING LEVEL AROUND 10 TO 15 KNOTS. WILL KEEP SCATTERED COVERAGE
IN EVENING PACKAGE. LINGERING DEBRIS CLOUDINESS SHOULD PERSIST INTO
THE NIGHT. WEAK SURFACE GRADIENT PERSISTS ON FRI AS ATLANTIC RIDGE
AXIS ESTABLISHES ACROSS THE PENINSULA. ANOTHER ROUND OF SEA BREEZE
INITIATED STORMS ON TAP WITH LESSENED LIKELIHOOD OF STRONG TO SEVERE
VARIETY. COVERAGE APPEARS SIMILAR TO TODAY AND WILL WORD FOR
SCATTERED OVER ALL SECTIONS.

WEEKEND...WITH RIDGE AXIS REMAINING OVER THE CENTRAL PENINSULA
REGIME SIMILAR TO TYPICAL SUMMER WITH WEAK WINDS ALOFT AND FILLING
UPPER LOW OVER THE GULF OF MEX. WILL FAVOR INTERIOR SECTIONS FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF STORMS EACH AFTERNOON WITH SEA BREEZE PROPAGATION
INLAND BEING THE MAIN FOCUS FOR DEVELOPMENT. WINDS ALOFT ARE WEAK SO
STORMS NOT AS LIKELY TO MAKE IT TO THE COAST THAN IS THE CASE
TODAY.

EXTENDED...SUMMER TIME PATTERN LOOKS LIKE MORE OF A CERTAINTY WITH
EACH RUN OF EXTENDED PKG. WITH CUT OFF UPPER SYSTEM DRIFTING OVER
THE STATE THROUGH MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK SHOULD KEEP TEMPS COOLER ALOFT
AND PROVIDE FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR DIURNAL STORMS.

MARINE...WEAK GRADIENT THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD BUT DO NOT SEE
ANYTHING MUCH MORE THAN 10 KNOTS...EXCEPT FOR AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES.

PRELIM...
DAB TT 069/087 069/088 070 4434
MCO TT 070/090 070/090 071 4434
MLB TT 070/087 071/087 071 3434 44

.MLB...NONE.

PUBLIC/MARINE...PENDERGRAST
AVIATION/FIRE WX...SPRATT

The radar

The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 123 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Martin

When: May 30, 3:55 PM EST
Where: Martin County, Indiantown
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 27.017, -80.467

Thunderstorm Wind, Martin

When: May 30, 3:58 PM EST
Where: Martin County, 10 mi W of Stuart
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 27.200, -80.417

Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees 10 miles west of Stuart. A home weather station recorded a wind gust to 61 mph.

Hail, Okeechobee

When: May 30, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Okeechobee County, Okeechobee
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 27.250, -80.833

Hail, Seminole

When: May 30, 5:28 PM EST
Where: Seminole County, Altamonte Spgs
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.667, -81.350

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 5:31 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Orlando
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.367

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 5:31 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Maitland
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.633, -81.367

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 5:58 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Conway
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.500, -81.333

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 6:02 PM EST
Where: Orange County, 3 mi SW of Orlando
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 28.520, -81.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When: May 30, 6:07 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Orlando
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.367

Thunderstorm winds damaged signs and the roof of a building in south Orlando.

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 6:07 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Orlando
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.367

Hail, Osceola

When: May 30, 6:10 PM EST
Where: Osceola County, Kissimmee
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.300, -81.400

Hail, Orange

When: May 30, 6:25 PM EST
Where: Orange County, Orlando
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.367

Flood, Osceola

When: May 30, 6:40 PM EST
Where: Osceola County, Kissimmee
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.063, -81.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Street flooding began as persistent heavy rain fell in the Kissimmee area.

Flash Flood, Osceola

When: May 30, 7:15 PM EST to 9:15 PM EST
Where: Osceola County, Kissimmee
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 28.063, -81.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

As heavy rain continued over Osceola County, many roads became unpassable and a few homes were flooded in Kissimmee.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, 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: 5288808, 5288809, 5288810, 5288811, 5288812, 5288813, 5288814, 5288815, 5288816, 5288817, 5288818, 5288819, 5288820, 5288821.