Flood and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 11, 2002

Name: Flood and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 11, 2002
Start: 2002-07-11T13:45
End: 2002-07-11T21:35
Location: Georgia

July 11, 2002 · NWS FFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $101,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 Jul 11, 4:30 AM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 11, 4:30 AM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
530 AM EDT THU JUL 11 2002

.UPDATED FOR AVIATION FORECAST DISCUSSION...

230 AM PUBLIC FORECAST DISCUSSION...
WEATHER BECOMING UNSETTLED AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVES OVER N
GA TODAY AND DRIFTS TO S GA FRIDAY. PLENTY OF MOISTURE ASSOCIATED
WITH FRONT AND AIRMASS OVER STATE. DECENT INSTABILITY FOR
THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND LESS SO FOR FRIDAY. HAVE BUMPED UP POPS TO
70% FOR N GA AND 60-70 FOR CENTRAL. THIS COULD BE UNDERDONE.
TEMPERATURES A HARD CALL ON FRIDAY WITH A WEDGE TYPE AIRMASS TRYING
TO MOVE OVER N GA. WEATHER PATTERN LOOKS TO REMAIN UNSETTLED INTO
THE WEEKEND.

ATL  86 71 80 68 /  70 70 70 50
AHN  87 70 78 68 /  70 70 70 50
GVL  85 70 78 67 /  70 70 70 50
RMG  88 72 82 69 /  70 70 70 50
CSG  93 75 88 72 /  60 60 60 50
MCN  93 72 84 71 /  60 70 60 50

.ATL...
GA...NONE.

BDL

.AVIATION FORECAST DISCUSSION...
BKN MID TO HIGH CLOUDS THIS MORNING. PATCHY IFR CIGS TIL 13Z
...MAINLY NORTH GEORGIA WHERE BEST PRECIP COVERAGE OCCURRED WED
NIGHT. CIGS 3500 TO 4500 FEET THIS AFTERNOON...LOWERING TO 2500 FEET
IN SCT TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS/TSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG AND AHEAD OF
COLD FRONT. BACK DOOR COLD FRONT NEAR A CHATSWORTH TO GAINESVILLE TO
ELBERTON LINE BY 20Z. SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH...BECOMING
NORTH TO NORTHEAST BEHIND BACK DOOR FRONT THIS AFTERNOON.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 11, 8:00 AM EST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
089>098-102>113-111630-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
900 AM EDT THU JUL 11 2002

...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WILL DRIFT SOUTH INTO NORTH
GEORGIA TODAY...THEN BECOME STATIONARY OVER NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
TONIGHT.

.PRIMARY HAZARD...
THE PRIMARY HAZARDS FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS.

.DISCUSSION...
A COLD FRONT DRIFTING SOUTH FROM THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WILL MOVE INTO
NORTH GEORGIA TODAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE
WARM MOIST AIRMASS AHEAD OF THE FRONT. THE BEST TIME FOR
THUNDERSTORM  DEVELOPMENT WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LIFTED
INDICES ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE MINUS 2 TO MINUS 4 RANGE...WITH
CAPES 1200 TO 1800. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE STRONG...BUT
ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS.

.FOR SPOTTERS...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT.
HOWEVER...SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD
MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER UPDATES.

&&
FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER
INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/FFC.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Johnson

When: July 11, 1:45 PM EST
Where: Johnson County, 2 mi WSW of Meeks
Property damage: $500
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 32.600, -82.583

The public reported that several trees had been blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Henry

When: July 11, 2:15 PM EST
Where: Henry County, Stockbridge
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 33.453, -84.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The public reported pea size hail.

Lightning, Oconee

When: July 11, 4:12 PM EST
Where: Oconee County, Watkinsville
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 33.835, -83.437 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Oconee Enterprise of Watkinsville reported that a fire was started at a home when lightning struck a pine tree and then traveled to the nearby garage. The garage caught fire and was gutted. Smoke and heat damage was also reported to neighboring parts of the home and all possessions stored in the garage were destroyed. Lightning caused problems at other locations in Watkinsville, including knocking out a transformer at a local bakery, damaging sheet rock at another home, and striking a tree which then fell onto a local road.

Flood, Union

When: July 11, 9:35 PM EST
Where: Union County, 6 mi NW of Blairsville
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.834, -83.991 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Union county 911 center reported that Ivy Log Creek had risen out of its banks.

What these are

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.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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, July 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: 5308727, 5308728, 5308729, 5308726.