3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 Aug 15, 2:40 PM EST, 5 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 340 PM EDT THU AUG 15 2002 UPPER RIDGE CONTINUES TO HOLD OVER THE CWA. MODELS SHOW SHORT WAVE ENERGY IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SHEARING NORTHEAST INTO THE OHIO VALLEY. THIS KEEPS MOST OF THE UPPER DYNAMICS WEST AND NORTH OF THE CWA. HOWEVER...AIRMASS REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE AND WILL CONTINUE WITH POPS IN 20 TO 50 PERCENT RANGE THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. EXTENDED SHOWS A COLD FRONT PUSHING SOUTHWARD TOWARD THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. QUESTIONABLE WHETHER IT WILL MAKE IT INTO NORTH GEORGIA BEFORE WASHING OUT. FOR NOW...WILL KEEP A PERSISTENCE FORECAST WITH LOW POPS EACH DAY AND NOT MUCH CHANGE IN TEMPERATURES. FCSTID = 41 ATL 70 88 71 88 / 20 40 20 40 AHN 69 88 70 88 / 20 40 20 40 GVL 69 88 68 88 / 20 40 20 40 RMG 71 92 71 90 / 20 40 20 40 CSG 72 91 72 91 / 20 30 20 30 MCN 71 91 71 91 / 20 30 20 30 .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.
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 UTC.
3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The Cherokee county 911 center reported that lightning struck near a security guard. While it was not a direct hit, the lightning was in close enough proximity to cause the man to become weak, have a rapid heart beat, and have difficulty breathing.
The Oconee Enterprise reported that lightning struck and set on fire a barn off Hog Mountain road. The barn was full of hay.
The public reported dime to quarter size hail in Thomaston and the Upson county Emergency Management Office reported dime size hail 3 miles northwest of Thomaston.
The Upson county Emergency Management Office reported that several large oak trees were uprooted by thunderstorm winds in Thomaston. In addition, there were other reports of downed limbs in the area.
The Upson county Emergency Management Office reported that lightning struck and set on fire two homes in the Thurston community near McKinney. Damage was minimal. Lightning also struck three groups of cows, killing several of them.
The Fulton county 911 center reported that one small tree was blown down.
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, August 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: 5318096, 5318196, 5318097, 5318098, 5318194, 5318195.