Name: Lightning Strike in Georgia, August 1, 2002
Start: 2002-08-01T19:30
End: 2002-08-01T22:15
Location: Georgia

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: $80,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 1, 2:20 PM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 2:20 PM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
320 PM EDT THU AUG 1 2002

ONCE AGAIN NOT MUCH CHANGE TO THE CURRENT FORECAST TREND.
SIGNIFICANTLY LESS CONVECTION TODAY VS YESTERDAY AS DRIER AIRMASS
SEEPS INTO THE REGION. MORNING SOUNDING SHOWED NOTICEABLE WARMING
FROM 600 TO 400 MB AND DECREASED PRECIPITABLE WATER FROM 12Z
WEDNESDAY. THIS TREND SHOULD CONTINUE AS WEAK UPPER TROUGH SLOWLY
SINKS INTO FLORIDA AND THEN DRIFTS WEST ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO
UNDER BUILDING UPPER RIDGE. FAR SOUTHERN REACHES OF THE FORECAST
AREA REMAIN UNDER THE LEAST INFLUENCE OF THE SUBSIDENCE FROM THE
UPPER RIDGE WITH MARGINAL MOISTURE. WILL CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE
AREAWIDE TONIGHT AND IN THE SOUTH TOMORROW. SATURDAY LOOKS DRY
AREAWIDE BEFORE MOISTURE BEGINS INCREASING FROM THE SOUTHEAST SUNDAY
INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. STILL UPPER RIDGE TO THE NORTH AND
ONLY MARGINAL MOISTURE POINTS TO ISOLATED TO SCATTERED...MAINLY
DIURNAL...CONVECTION THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST.

TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN HOT DURING THE DAY AND SEASONAL AT NIGHT
THROUGH THIS FORECAST.

FCSTID = 20

ATL  70 92 69 93 /  20 10 00 10
AHN  70 92 68 92 /  20 10 00 10
GVL  68 91 68 92 /  20 10 00 10
RMG  70 92 68 93 /  20 10 00 10
CSG  73 94 72 94 /  20 20 10 10
MCN  72 93 70 94 /  20 20 10 10

.ATL...
GA...NONE.

OUR DETAILED COUNTY FORECASTS ARE AVAILABLE AT FOUS52 KFFC.
OUR AREA FORECAST FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA CITIES IS AVAILABLE
AT FLUS42 KFFC.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 1, 6:43 PM EST, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
743 PM EDT THU AUG 01 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0637 PM    PEACHTREE CITY            GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
08/01/02   FAYETTE

0640 PM    SHARPSBURG                GA   WIND DAMAGE
08/01/02   COWETA                         FEW TREES DOWN

0645 PM    SHARPSBURG                GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
08/01/02   COWETA

0645 PM    SHARPSBURG                GA   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/01/02   COWETA

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Johnson

When: August 1, 7:30 PM EST to 10:15 PM EST
Where: Johnson County, Countywide
Property damage: $80,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 32.702, -82.660 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Johnson county Emergency Management Director and the Journal of Wrightsville reported that lightning struck a tree, two homes, a vehicle, and a barn. One of the homes struck was on Georgia Highway 15 in Wrightsville. This home sustained moderate damage. The other home affected was on Pinehill Church Road near the Piney Mountain and Gaines Mills communities. This home only suffered minor damage. A newly built hay barn with an attached shop was also struck and set on fire by lightning. The barn was destroyed, while the shop suffered minor damage. In Kite, on Georgia Highway 57, a tree was struck and set on fire, but heavy rain extinguished the fire.

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Georgia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, August 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: 5316839.