19 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 3 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 28, 1:54 PM EST, 4 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 255 PM EDT SAT APR 27 2002 OVERVIEW...UPPER RIDGE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO KEEPING BASICALLY A WESTERLY FLOW OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. FLOW VARIES FROM WEST-SOUTHWEST TO WEST-NORTHWEST WITH THE APPROACH AND PASSAGE OF SHORT WAVES FROM THE SOUTHWEST U.S. TO THE NORTHEAST STATES. LITTLE IF ANY UPPER LEVEL ENERGY MAKES IT INTO GEORGIA...AS IT IS SHUNTED TO THE NORTH OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT WITH THIS PATTERN AND CONTINUE IN AGREEMENT THROUGH THIS FORECAST. NEAR TERM...COLD FRONT LOCATED FROM LOW OVER ONTARIO THROUGH OHIO...WEST KENTUCKY TO NORTH TEXAS. PRE-FRONTAL TROF HAS PRODUCED STRONG STORMS FROM MID-MISSISSIPPI THROUGH OHIO RIVER VALLEY. VERY UNSTABLE AIR THIS AFTERNOON FROM N MISSISSIPPI TO N ALABAMA AND E TENNESSEE. LI VALUES OF -4 TO -8 AND CAPES 2000-4000. WORST VALUES PROGGED OVER NW GEORGIA ARE -4 TO -6 AND 1500 TO 2500. WATER VAPOR SHOWS LOTS OF MID LEVEL DRYING IN THE SAME GENERAL AREA. MODIFIED FFC SOUNDING INDICATES A VERY SMALL CAP THAT HAS INHIBITED AFTERNOON CONVECTION AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT LACKING BUT THERE IS SUFFICIENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PRESENT AND...AFTER CAP BREAKS...TO ALLOW ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION. DRY MID LEVELS WILL ENHANCE THE THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS EARLY THIS EVENING...MAINLY ACROSS THE FAR NORTH. MODELS SHOW FRONT MOVING INTO CENTRAL GEORGIA BY 12Z...WITH THE ETA A BIT SLOWER. DRYER AIR SPREADS INTO THE AREA TONIGHT...BUT CONVECTION COULD LINGER UNTIL PAST MIDNIGHT IN A FEW SPOTS. FRONT STALLS IN SOUTH GEORGIA THEN BEGINS MOVING BACK NORTH ON TUESDAY... WITH MODELS SHOWING SOME RETURN FLOW MOISTURE SPREADING NORTH. A FAST MOVING MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE PASSES OVER NORTH GEORGIA DURING THE DAY TUESDAY. MODELS HAVE BEEN HINTING AT SOME SORT OF DISTURBANCE TUESDAY FOR A COUPLE OF RUNS...SO WILL CONTINUE THE CHANCE POPS ALREADY IN THE FORECAST. PREFER STAYING ON THE WARM SIDE OF GUIDANCE TEMPS...DUE TO SOME UNCERTAINTY OF HOW FAR FRONT WILL PROGRESS. EXTENDED...WARM FRONT WORKS BACK NORTH OF THE STATE BY WEDNESDAY BUT WITH WARM MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR...CHANCE POPS WILL BE CONTINUED THROUGH FRIDAY. ANOTHER STRONGER WAVE PUSHES THE FRONT BACK SOUTH OF US BY NEXT SATURDAY...SO LAST 2 DAYS OF FORECAST WILL BE DRY. FORECAST CONFIDENCE...OVERALL A GOOD CONFIDENCE LEVEL BASED ON CONTINUITY OF MODEL TO MODEL AND RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. BIGGEST DOUBT IS HOW FAR AND TIMIMG OF SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF FRONT TONIGHT AND MONDAY. FCSTID = 22 ATL 64 80 58 82 / 30 00 10 40 AHN 62 80 55 83 / 30 00 10 40 GVL 61 79 54 80 / 30 00 10 40 RMG 62 82 54 82 / 30 00 10 50 CSG 67 86 63 87 / 30 10 20 40 MCN 63 86 59 87 / 30 10 10 40 .ATL... GA...NONE. DH OUR DETAILED COUNTY FORECASTS ARE AVAILABLE AT FOUS52 KFFC. OUR AREA FORECAST FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA CITIES IS AVAILABLE AT FLUS42 KFFC.
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-290200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 510 PM EDT SUN APR 28 2002 ...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING ACROSS EXTREME NORTH GEORGIA... .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL BE PUSHING INTO NORTH GEORGIA LATER TONIGHT. AHEAD OF THIS BOUNDARY...EXPECT INCREASING INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE. .PRIMARY HAZARD... ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME NORTH GEORGIA THIS EVENING...MAINLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM ROME TO CLEVELAND. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. A FEW TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. .DISCUSSION... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA...AS DAYTIME HEATING WILL COMBINE WITH INCREASING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY. CAPES WILL BE INCREASING TO AROUND 2000 TO 2500 ACROSS EXTREME NORTH GEORGIA. COMBINED WITH SOME DYNAMICS FROM THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OR TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...WITH WINDS OF 55 MPH OR GREATER AND HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES OR LARGER. THE THREAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL AROUND 10 PM THIS EVENING. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA COULD PRODUCE SMALL PEA SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. .FOR SPOTTERS... SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND BE READY FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION. && FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/FFC.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
19 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
An amateur radio operator relayed to the Morristown, TN National Weather Service Office that there was dime size hail.
The public reported quarter size hail in Trion and the Chattooga county sheriff reported dime size hail in Welcome Hill, northwest of Trion.
The Walker County Messenger reported golf ball size hail.
Numerous reports of hail were received from storm spotters, amateur radio operators, and the public. While most of the hail sizes reported ranged from dimes to quarters, some reports of hail as large as golf balls were received from Calhoun and just west of Calhoun in Spring Valley.
The public reported that several trees were blown down both in Calhoun and at Spring Valley, just west of Calhoun. The Calhoun Times reported that a large tree was blown over onto a home in the city causing damage to the garage and a neighboring house.
Several reports of hail ranging in size from quarters, to half-dollars, to golf balls were received from the public.
Several reports were received from the public of hail ranging in size from dimes to quarters. Hail reports were received from Holly Springs, Canton, and Woodstock..
Numerous reports were received from the public of hail ranging in size from dimes to golf balls. Most of the large half-dollar to golf ball size hail reports came from the Roswell and Alpharetta areas. At least one person indicated that the hail covered the ground and another indicated that it hailed for several minutes.
The public reported that several trees and some power lines were blown down.
A local police officer reported sighting a funnel cloud. Doppler radar showed significant rotation on this cell in this general area at the time.
A tremendous number of reports of hail, ranging in size from dimes to golf balls, were received from Duluth, to Norcross, to Lilburn, to Lawrenceville, to Snellville. The golf ball size hail was confined to the Norcross and Duluth areas in the western part of the county. At least three reports of dime to quarter size hail covering the ground and the roads were received from the Lilburn and Lawrenceville area. In one instance, in Lilburn, the dime size hail was observed to be 3.5 inches deep.
The Gwinnett Daily Post in Lawrenceville reported that lightning struck and set on fire a two-story brick home in Lilburn. The home suffered heavy damage to the attic and roof and personal belongings.
At least two reports were received from a storm spotter and a public service radio station of funnel clouds in the Snellville area. This was consistent with rotation indicated on the WSR-88D Doppler radar at this time. This storm was a supercell, right mover type storm.
Several reports of dime to nickel size hail were relayed by amateur radio operators.
The public reported a funnel cloud in the Conyers area. This was consistent with earlier reports from Gwinnett and Fulton counties and WSR-88D Doppler velocity data. This storm was a well tracked and long lived supercell type thunderstorm.
The public reported dime to quarter size hail.
The public reported that some tree limbs, blown down by thunderstorm winds, fell on a car, causing damage to the vehicle.
The Floyd county 911 center reported that several trees were blown down in the city.
The Floyd county 911 center reported that lightning set a transformer and the adjacent structure on fire. Damage was minimal and there were no injuries or deaths reported.
Numerous reports were received from the public and amateur radio operators of hail ranging in size from dimes to quarters. There were two reports that the hail lasted for several minutes. One report from Silver Creek indicated that hail of various sizes from dimes up to quarters lasted up to 10 minutes.
The public reported nickel size hail.
The public reported dime size hail.
The Cherokee county Emergency Management Director reported dime to quarter size hail at a large farm in the southeast part of the county.
The Cherokee county Emergency Management Director reported that several trees were blown down, destroying two vehicles at a large farm in the southeast part of the county.
The Coweta county 911 center reported trees down on Smokey Road and Belk Road in the southwest part of the county.
The public reported dime size hail.
The Troup county 911 center reported that several trees were blown down.
The Lamar county 911 center reported dime size hail.
The public reported dime size hail.
The Heard county 911 center reported that several trees had been blown down.
Radio Station WCOH reported dime size hail.
The Newnan Times/Herald reported that trees were blown down on a power line on Bethlehem-Church Road, southwest of Moreland.
The Upson county Emergency Management Director reported dime size hail.
The Upson county Emergency Management Director reported that several trees had been blown down.
The Marietta Daily Journal reported that a large oak tree on Villa Rica Road in Powder Springs was struck by lightning. The tree split and fell on a man's truck. The truck was totaled, but the male passenger inside only sustained minor injuries.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, April 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: 5283899, 5283898, 5283902, 5283900, 5283901, 5283903, 5283904, 5283905, 5283906, 5283907, 5283955, 5283957, 5283956, 5283959, 5283958, 5283960, 5283961, 5283963, 5283964, 5283962, 5283965, 5283966, 5284087, 5284088, 5284078, 5284082, 5284079, 5284080, 5284081, 5284085, 5284083, 5284089, 5284084, 5284086, 5284090.