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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 15, 1:52 AM EST, 5 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 252 AM EDT SUN SEP 15 2002 CURRENTLY: LATEST LOOP OF MSAS SHOWS TROPICAL DEPRESSION HANNA LOCATED OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA WITH RADARS SHOWING SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS TRAINING OVER PORTIONS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND SW GEORGIA. CURRENTLY FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA DUE TO COPIOUS RAINFALL AMOUNTS SPILLING OVER THE REGION. MODELS/ZFP: IN THE UPPER LEVELS THE MODELS SHOW REMNANTS OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY ASSOCIATED WITH T.D. HANNA MOVING ACROSS THE EXTREME SE STATES TODAY AS THE LONG WAVE TROF SLIDES ACROSS THE NE TIER OF STATES DRAGGING AN ELONGATED AND WEAK VORT LOBE FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS...BUT BY LATE TODAY WILL EXTEND FROM THE OHIO VALLEY ACROSS THE MID MISS RVR VALLEY AND INTO TEXAS. AS THE LONG WAVE TROUGH SLIDES EASTWARD ACROSS THE NEW ENGLAND STATES AND INTO THE ATLANTIC WATERS THE VORT LOBE CLOSER TO HOME BECOMES MORE EAST TO WEST ORIENTED...AND BY LATE MONDAY IS PROGGED TO LIE GENERALLY ACROSS THE TN VALLEY AND INTO THE SRN PLAINS AND SHOULD BE VERY WEAK BY THAT TIME. AT THE SURFACE: TROPICAL DEPRESSION HANNA WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT NNE AND AVN IS SHOWING THIS FEATURE OVER NRN AL/GA BY SUNRISE. ETA/NGM DONT HAVE A VERY GOOD HANDLE ON THE DEPRESSION...BUT BOTH MODELS DO SHOW HIGH MEAN RH VALUES (+70%) MOVING NORTH AND EAST OF THE AREA DURING THE DAY...WITH SIGNIFICANT OMEGA VALUES. MEANWHILE THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY WHICH CURRENTLY LIES OVER MO/AR AND INTO TX IS FORECAST TO SLIDE SOUTHEAST INTO THE DIXIE STATES AND BECOME EAST TO WEST ORIENTED BY LATE MONDAY AND INTO TUESDAY. MEAN RH VALUES WILL BE HIGHEST OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA TODAY...THEN WE WILL SEE A SLIGHT DECREASE IN MOISTURE ON MONDAY...BUT AS THE FRONT APPROACHES ON TUESDAY THE MOISTURE CREEPS BACK IN...WITH ETA SHOWING THE HIGHEST MEAN RH TO OUR NORTH. TODAYS POP FORECAST WILL BE A BLEND OF RADAR TRENDS AND GUIDANCE...SO WILL MAKE THE DECISION AT THE LAST MINUTE...BUT MY GUT REACTION IS FOR LIKELY/CATEGORICAL POPS OVER GA...LIKELY POPS OVER THE BIG BEND...AND GOOD CHANCE TO THE WEST. FOR MONDAY THRU TUES WILL NOT MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE ZONES SINCE THE NUMBERS STILL SEEM REASONABLE WHEN COMPARED TO NEW GUIDANCE. (SEE SPECIFIC POPS NUMBERS BELOW). MARINE: S TO SW WINDS SHOULD BE AT SCEC LEVELS FOR TODAY...BUT THEN AS THE GRADIENT RELAXES LATE TODAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...WINDS WILL BE WELL BELOW SCEC LEVELS. THEREAFTER WINDS REMAIN W-SW UNTIL TUESDAY WHEN WINDS SHIFT TO THE N-NW. FIRE WX: NO CONCERNS. EXTENDED (WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY): CURRENT EXTENDED LOOKS GOOD...SO NO CHANGES PLANNED. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS (SUBJECT TO LAST MINUTE CHANGES): TLH 089/071 090/071 6232 PFN 087/074 087/074 6232 DHN 087/073 090/072 5232 ABY 086/072 090/072 7242 VLD 086/071 089/072 8232 .TLH... .AL...NONE. .GA...NONE. .FL...NONE. MOLLERE
ALZ065>069-FLZ007>019-026>029-034-GAZ120>131-142>148-155>161-151400- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 600 AM EDT SUN SEP 15 2002 ...THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND EASTERN PANHANDLE...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS... ...LOCALIZED FLOODING OF FLOOD PRONE AREAS AND RIP CURRENTS ALONG AREA BEACHES WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER THREATS TODAY... TROPICAL DEPRESSION HANNA IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA ALONG THE ALABAMA/GEORGIA BORDER. HANNA SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST TODAY. SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL ALLOW AMPLE MOISTURE TO BE PULLED NORTHWARD ACROSS THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...BIG BEND AND SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY. OVERNIGHT MANY OF THESE STORMS HAVE MOVED OVER THE SAME GENERAL AREA AND COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN HAVE FALLEN OVER THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST GEORGIA. LOCAL RADARS HAVE ESTIMATED THAT AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 8 INCHES MAY HAVE FALLEN ACROSS SOUTHWEST GEORGIA...IN PARTICULAR SEMINOLE AND MILLER COUNTIES. LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO BE A THREAT...MAINLY OVER GEORGIA...AS THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST. MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED NOT TO DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. IT ONLY TAKES A FOOT OR TWO OF FLOWING WATER TO SWEEP MOST CARS AWAY. REMEMBER...MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. IN ADDITION...SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS...AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY. MARINERS SHOULD ALSO EXERCISE CAUTION TODAY SINCE WINDS WILL RANGE FROM 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND SEAS WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 5 FEET. IN ADDITION...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE COASTAL WATERS AND HIGHER WINDS AND SEAS WILL LIKELY ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS. BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS...LARGE SWELLS AND FAVORABLE TIMES OF LOW TIDE WILL ALSO RESULT IN A GREATER LIKELIHOOD FOR RIP CURRENTS TO DEVELOP TODAY ALONG PANHANDLE BEACHES. A RIP CURRENT IS A STRONG NARROW CURRENT OF WATER FLOWING FROM THE BEACH THROUGH THE SURF ZONE. IT CAN RAPIDLY CARRY A SWIMMER INTO DEEPER WATER. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...WADE SIDEWAYS PARALLEL TO THE BEACH UNTIL YOU ARE OUT OF ITS PULL. TO ESCAPE...RIDE THE CURRENT OUT BEYOND THE SURF ZONE WHERE THE RIP CURRENT DISSIPATES...THEN SWIM TO SHORE OUTSIDE THE NARROW CURRENT. ALWAYS HEED THE ADVICE OF THE BEACH PATROL AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. WATCH YOUR CHILDREN. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS NEAR PIERS...JETTIES...AND UNGUARDED BEACHES. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE VIA OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TLH/ OR LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO STATIONS. 5-MOLLERE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
An elderly man drowned while attempting to rescue a young boy from a severe rip current caused by Tropical Storm Hanna. Reported by the Walton County EMA.
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, Walton | 2002-09-15 | 60 | 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, September 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: 5319838.