Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 31, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 31, 2002
Start: 2002-05-31T15:21
End: 2002-05-31T17:30
Location: Florida

May 31, 2002 · NWS TBW · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Events: 5

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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 1:30 PM EST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 1:30 PM EST, 1 hour 51 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
230 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002

CURRENTLY...A WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT CONTINUES ACROSS THE PENINSULA
WITH EAST AND WEST COAST SEA BREEZES PUSHING INLAND. THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE DEVELOPED ALONG THE EAST COAST AND ARE MOVING NORTH BUT
REDEVELOPMENT OCCURS WESTWARD ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. SIGNIFICANT
CONVECTION IS SLOW TO DEVELOP ALONG THE WEST COAST.

SHORT TERM FORECAST...ACTIVITY WILL DEVELOP JUST INLAND ALONG THE
EAST AND WEST COAST SEA BREEZE COLLISION. THUNDERTORMS ARE
ALIGHNED NORTH-SOUTH AND ARE DRIFING NORTH. THE SLOW
MOVEMENT WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF RAIN AND LOCALIZED
FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL
AND STRONG WINDS.

LONGER TERM... SURFACE GRADIENT REMAINS LIGHT WITH RIDGE OVER GULF.
MID-UPPER LOW OVER GULF SLOWLY WEAKENS AS DOES UPPER JET. MID LEVEL
TEMPS WARM SLIGHTLY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. WILL SETTLE INTO
MORE TYPICAL SUMMER PATTERN NEXT WEEK WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES AND
RELATED CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY.

MARINE...VERY WEAK PRESSURE PATTERN CONTINUES WITH VARIABLE
WINDS IN THE 5-10 KNOT WITH AN ONSHORE SEA BREEZE COMPONENT EXPECTED
ALONG THE COAST EACH AFTERNOON THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. NO HIGHLIGHTS
EXPECTED.

FIRE WEATHER...NO CONCERNS TODAY OR SATURDAY AS RH VALUES REMAIN WELL
ABOVE WATCH/RED FLAG CRITERIA.

BKV TB 090/068 091/067 091 57533
TPA EB 090/073 091/074 090 57433
GIF TT 090/072 091/072 092 57735
SRQ EB 087/073 088/073 088 57433
FMY EB 091/072 092/073 090 57433

.TBW...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Hillsborough

When: May 31, 3:21 PM EST to 3:29 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough County, Temple Terrace
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 28.050, -82.383

Dime to Golfball size hail fell in Temple Terrace.

Lightning, Pasco

When: May 31, 4:40 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where: Pasco County, Zephyrhills
Crop damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.307, -82.439 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous brush fires were reported from excessive cloud to ground lightning strikes in and near Zephyrhills.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pasco

When: May 31, 4:43 PM EST to 4:54 PM EST
Where: Pasco County, Dade City
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 28.367, -82.183

A tree fell onto a vehicle in Dade City. The Zephyrhills Police Department reported a roof off at 543 PM EDT. A spotter reported three quarter inch hail between 549 and 554 PM EDT, along with torrential rains. A retired NWS employee measured 58 mph winds near the center of town at 548 PM EDT. Winds at the Zephyrhills municipal airport were clocked at 52 mph at 550 PM EDT.

Hail, Pasco

When: May 31, 5:04 PM EST
Where: Pasco County, Zephyrhills
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 28.233, -82.183

Quarter size hail was observed by the public just east of Zephyrhills.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: May 31, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Polk County, 7 mi N of Lakeland
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 28.130, -81.950

A microburst, emanating from a severe storm which originated in Pasco Co and drifted southeast, produced a small area of damage, roughly 1/3 by 1/2 mile, along two residential streets off Old Polk City Road north of Lakeland. Damage included three very large limbs downed, including one onto a pickup truck. Several medium size limbs were blown down, and three sheds had tin roofs blown off. Two small trampolines were moved, one over 100 feet and another into a tree. A few siding strips were torn off one home.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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.

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: 5291540, 5291542, 5291541, 5291543, 5291544.