1 lightning, 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 8:50 AM EST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 950 AM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002 ...ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS... A FAVORABLE SETUP REMAINS IN PLACE FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. MORNING SOUNDINGS MODIFIED FURTHER FOR AFTERNOON HEATING YIELDS CAPES AROUND 3500 J/KG WITH LI OF -9. WIND SPEEDS AT STORM LEVEL DOWN TO THE SURFACE HAVE DECREASED FROM THIS TIME YESTERDAY. INITIAL STORM DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE ALONG THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE WITH LOCAL LAKE BREEZES AND CONVECTIVE OUTFLOWS INTERACTING BY EARLY AFTERNOON. IT IS UNCERTAIN IF A LARGE SCALE BREEZE CONVERGENCE OVER THE INTERIOR WILL OCCUR LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. ONSET OF THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE...OR LACK OF IT MOVING OVER THE INTERIOR WILL FACTOR INTO THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORM DEVELOPMENT BY LATE AFTERNOON. EXPECTED SLOW STORM MOTIONS WILL INCREASE THE CHANCE OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WET MICRO BURSTS AND LARGE HAIL ON THE HAZARDOUS OUTLOOK. PRECIP COVERAGE LOOKS GOOD ON CURRENT PACKAGE AND NO ADJUSTMENTS ARE ANTICIPATED ATTM. MARINE...STORMS MOST LIKELY TO AFFECT INTERIOR LOCATIONS BUT THERE IS STILL A CHANCE OF CONVECTIVE WIND GUSTS ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST. ACTIVITY ALONG THE TREASURE COAST SHOULD CONTINUE TO DRIFT NORTH THROUGH MIDDAY. OTHERWISE WIND WAVES WILL DOMINATE. .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE...PENDERGRAST AVIATION/FIRE WX...SPRATT
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 312100- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1045 AM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002 ...STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE... SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP ALONG SEA AND LAKE BREEZE BOUNDARIES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. DUE TO WEAK STEERING WINDS THE STRONGER STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN UP TO 3 INCHES PER HOUR ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. WITH DRY AIR IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING. BRIEF TORNADOES OR WATERSPOUTS MAY SPIN UP ALONG THUNDERSTORM BOUNDARIES. PERSONS PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD ALLOW TIME TO GET INDOORS SHOULD STORMS DEVELOP OR MOVE TO THEIR AREA. LIGHTNING STRIKES MAY OCCUR WELL IN ADVANCE OF ARRIVAL OF THE PRECIPITATION. STANDING WATER ON ROADWAYS WILL CAUSE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. MOTORISTS SHOULD SLOW DOWN WHEN DRIVING ON SLICK ROADS. SKYWARN NET CONTROLS ARE REQUESTED TO SELF ACTIVATE SHOULD A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING BE ISSUED IN THEIR AREA. THE GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS AVAILABLE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MLB/HWOFILES/HWOMAIN.HTML JP
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:02 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 17 year old boy was struck and injured by lightning while working on a boat ramp.
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: 5288903.