Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, April 3, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, April 3, 2002
Start: 2002-04-03T19:15
End: 2002-04-03T20:50
Location: Georgia

April 3, 2002 · NWS TAE · 8 events in 5 counties and zones

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

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $111,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Events: 8

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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 3, 3:00 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 3:00 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
300 PM EST WED APR 3 2002

FORECAST CHALLENGE -- TIMING THE END OF ONGOING PRECIPITATION.

--SYNOPSIS--
WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOW A VORT MAX MOVING E ACROSS THE N-CENTRAL
GULF AND SPARKING A CONVECTIVE COMPLEX AHEAD OF IT. 19Z MSAS
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS SHOWS COLD FRONT JUST NW OF OUR CWFA. VISIBLE
IMAGES SHOW THIS FRONT WELL...WITH A SHARP TRANSITION FROM TOWERING
CUMULUS TO STRATOCUMULUS. POST FRONTAL LOW CLOUDS CONTINUE TO
ERODE...BUT ARE STILL FAIRLY EXTENSIVE.

--FORECAST--
TONIGHT - EXPECT SEVERE THREAT TO END SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET WITH LOSS
OF INSOLATION. IT APPEARS THE BEST UPPER FORCING WILL PASS OVER OUR
COASTAL WATERS. THE 03/12Z MESOETA GENERATES PRECIPITATION ALONG THE
ACTUAL COLD FRONT THIS EVENING...SO WILL CARRY LEFTOVER POPS TONIGHT
FOR MOST OF OUR ZONES. FRONT SHOULD BE OVER OUR FAR SERN CWFA BY 12Z
THURSDAY.

THURSDAY - DUE TO PROXIMITY OF FRONT...WILL CONTINUE MORNING POPS
FOR OUR FAR SE ZONES. MODEL TIME HEIGHT SECTIONS SHOW HIGH BOUNDARY
LAYER RH VALUES LINGERING WELL BEHIND THE FRONT. EXTENSIVE POST
FRONTAL LOW CLOUDS CURRENTLY SEEN ON VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY
SUGGESTS WE COULD STAY MOSTLY CLOUDY DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE
DAY.

THURSDAY NIGHT - MESOETA SUGGESTS FRONT MAY BRIEFLY STALL OVER NRN
FL BEFORE GETTING PUSHED S. THIS WOULD RESULT IN A DIFFERENT WIND
FORECAST FOR OUR SE ZONES IF TRUE. WILL GO WITH MILDER TEMPERATURES
FOR THE SERN ZONES.

FRIDAY - SHOULD BE MUCH DRIER WITH CONTINUED OFFSHORE FLOW AS THE
SURFACE HIGH N OF THE CWFA MOVES E.

FIRE WEATHER - NO HIGHLIGHTS.

MARINE - NO HIGHLIGHTS. STILL EXPECT POST FRONTAL WINDS TO BE JUST
BELOW EXERCISE CAUTION LEVELS OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT PROSPECT FOR BRISK
WINDS WILL BE MONDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT FRONT.

EXTENDED (SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) - AFTER SURFACE HIGH MOVES E
TO THE ATLANTIC COAST BY SUNDAY...BRISK RETURN FLOW SHOULD BRING A
RETURN OF LOW CLOUDS AND POSSIBLY FOG TO OUR WRN ZONES BY MONDAY
MORNING. THE 03/00Z MRF IS CONSISTENT WITH ITS PREVIOUS RUN WITH
RESPECT TO TIMING THE FRONTAL PASSAGE LATE MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.
LINGERING UPPER TROUGH BEHIND THIS FRONT IS STILL APPARENT IN THIS
LATEST MRF RUN...BUT NOT AS PRONOUNCED. INSTEAD OF CONTINUING POPS
WEDNESDAY... WILL WORD DECREASING CLOUDINESS.

PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
TLH 060/074 050/075 2100
PFN 058/070 053/070 3-00
DHN 052/069 047/073 2-00
ABY 053/065 047/070 3-00
VLD 059/072 048/074 3-00

.TLH...
.AL...NONE.
.GA...NONE.
.FL...NONE.

TJT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Decatur

When: April 3, 7:15 PM EST
Where: Decatur County, Climax
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 30.867, -84.433

Golfball size hail reported by the Decatur County Sheriff.

Hail, Mitchell

When: April 3, 8:02 PM EST to 8:07 PM EST
Where: Mitchell County, 5 mi N of Camilla
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $100,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.300, -84.200

Golfball size hail damaged several vehicles and homes. The hail destroyed several strawberry and peach crops, and damaged watermelon, cantaloupe and tomato crops on a farm located off U.S. Highway 19/300. Reported by the Mitchell County Sheriff.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mitchell

When: April 3, 8:02 PM EST
Where: Mitchell County, Camilla
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 31.233, -84.200

An irrigation system was overturned off State Highway 37. Reported by the Albany Herald.

Hail, Colquitt

When: April 3, 8:10 PM EST
Where: Colquitt County, 13 mi SW of Moultrie
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 31.050, -83.950

Dime size hail reported by a SKYWARN storm spotter.

Hail, Colquitt

When: April 3, 8:35 PM EST
Where: Colquitt County, Northeast Portion
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 31.250, -83.950

Dime size hail reported by a SKYWARN storm spotter.

Hail, Turner

When: April 3, 8:37 PM EST
Where: Turner County, Ashburn
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.700, -83.667

Golfball size hail reported by the Turner County EMA.

Thunderstorm Wind, Turner

When: April 3, 8:37 PM EST
Where: Turner County, Ashburn
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 31.700, -83.667

Downed trees reported by the Turner County EMA.

Hail, Tift

When: April 3, 8:50 PM EST
Where: Tift County, Northeast Portion
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 31.517, -83.433

Dime size hail reported by the Tift County Sheriff.

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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, April 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: 5287496, 5287497, 5287498, 5287499, 5287500, 5287501, 5287502, 5287503.