Several thunderstorms with high winds, large hail, and frequent lightning moved through western and central Maryland between 2 and 6 PM EDT. In Allegany County, a few trees and power lines were downed in Cumberland.
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.
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 episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Several thunderstorms with high winds, large hail, and frequent lightning moved through western and central Maryland between 2 and 6 PM EDT. In Allegany County, a few trees and power lines were downed in Cumberland. Pea sized hail was also reported. In Frederick County, a 52 year old man was killed by lightning while standing on the back porch of his Frederick home. It was not raining at the time he was struck. A 17 year old swimming pool lifeguard at Fort Detrick was injured when lightning struck nearby. He had just evacuated the pool and was walking toward the pool house when he was struck. A 36 year old Frederick County man was also injured by lightning in an unknown location. At least 4 homes across the county were damaged by lightning and 2000 bales of hay were set on fire near Emmitsburg. Wind damage was reported in Park Mills. Marble to quarter sized hail fell just south of Frederick for nearly 10 minutes. In Carroll County, dime sized hail fell in Eldersburg. In Baltimore County, quarter sized hail fell 10 miles northwest of Baltimore. Trees were downed in Owings Mills. In Howard County, quarter sized hail fell in Scaggsville. A home on Talon Court in Clarksville burned to the ground after being struck by lightning. In Montgomery County, trees were uprooted, roofs were damaged, and windows were blown out in Derwood. Many large branches were downed in Layhill where 2.5 inches of rain fell. A tree was downed onto Cashell Road in Olney. In Prince Georges County, penny sized hail fell in Camp Springs. Pea sized hail fell in Bowie and College Park. Trees were downed in Seat Pleasant. Several tree limbs were downed in Hyattsville. A house in Suitland caught fire after being struck by lightning and one person was slightly injured at the scene.
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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 3, 10:00 AM EST, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1100 AM EDT SAT AUG 3 2002
WEAK DIFFUSE CDFNT HARD TO FIND THIS MORNING BUT MSAS ANALYSIS SEEMS
TO INDICATE WHATEVER THATS LEFT OF THE FRONT IS LOCATED OVR SRN PA.
12Z MODIFIED IAD SOUNDING YIELDS LIS OF -8C TO -10C THIS AFTERNOON
WITH CAPES EXCEEDING 4000 J/KG SO AIR MASS WILL BE UNSTABLE.
QUITE A FEW WAYS TO GET CONVECTION GOING THIS AFTRN. WEAKENING FRONT
TO THE N OF THE AREA MAY ACT AS A FOCUS FOR SCT CONVECTION THIS
AFTERNOON. ALSO....MODELS HINT AT VERY WEAK VORT MAX DRIFTING SW
ACRS THE AREA. THIS MAY ALSO HELP TO INITIATE CONVECTION. IN
ADDITION...THERE MAY BE MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES LAID OUT OVR THE AREA
DUE TO LAST NIGHTS CONVECTION. THESE BOUNDARIES COULD INITIATE
CONVECTION. AND FINALLY...IF SFC WINDS TURN MORE SE...UPSLOPE
AGAINST THE MTNS COULD ENHANCE OROGRAPHIC LIFT POTENTIAL. WILL LEAVE
30 POPS IN PLACE FOR THE AFTRN HOURS. AS FAR AS POTENTIAL FOR SVR...
DYNAMICS ARE LACKING AND WIND FIELDS ARE WEAK BUT CANT RULE OUT
ISOLD SVR. BIGGEST THREAT MAY BE HEAVY RAIN AS HIGH PWATS AND WEAK
STEERING FLOW COULD RESULT IN VERY SLOW MOVING HEAVY RAINERS.
NEXT PROBLEM IS THE HEAT. TEMPS MAY BE A DEG OR TWO LOWER THAN YDA
IF WINDS TURN MORE SE AND 850MB TEMPS COOL A DEG OR TWO AS FCSTD BY
THE ETA. EVEN IF THEY WERE A LTL COOLER THAN YDA...THAT STILL PLACES
THEM IN THE UPR 90S MANY AREAS. IN ADDTN...12Z SOUNDING FULL SUN MAX
FCST IS 99 FOR IAD. WILL BUMP TEMPS UP JUST A BIT MOST AREAS.
HEAT INDEX DID NOT FALL BELOW 80F LAST NIGHT AT DCA. IN
ADDTN...DEWPOINT REMAINS HIGH AT DCA. HIGH DWPTS COMBINED WITH TEMPS
IN THE UPR 90S WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 110 TODAY. WITH
THE 80F CRITERIA MET LAST NIGHT AND 100 TO 110 HI THIS
AFTRN...ADVISORY WILL BE UPGRADED TO A WARNING FOR DC AND THE URBAN
AREAS AROUND DC. WILL NOT BE UPGRADING TO A WARNING FOR BALTIMORE
BECAUSE DMH (DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE) HEAT INDEX FELL BELOW 80F LAST
NIGHT. HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS UP REMAINDER OF AREA EXCEPT HIGHLAND
AND PENDLETON COUNTIES.
.LWX...
DC...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR ZONE
DCZ001.
MD...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR ZONES
MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR ZONE
VAZ054.
HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR ZONES
VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042...VAZ050>053...VAZ055>057.
WV...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM EDT SATURDAY FOR ZONES
WVZ048>053...WVZ055.
WALSTONDCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>053-055>057-WVZ048>055-040000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON 1152 AM EDT SAT AUG 3 2002 THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON OVER NORTHERN AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA...MUCH OF MARYLAND...EASTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT FORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. IN ADDITION...ANY STORMS THAT FORM WILL BE SLOW MOVING WHICH COULD RESULT IN MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...SEEK SHELTER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. WALSTON
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:30 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 52-year old man was killed by lightning while standing on his deck on Millstream Drive.
A 17-year old lifeguard at a swimming pool and a 36-year old man were injured by lightning.
Trees and power lines were downed.
Quarter sized hail fell 10 miles northwest of Baltimore.
A home on Talon Court burned to the ground after being struck by lightning. The event time was estimated.
Trees were downed.
Trees and large branches were downed.
Trees were downed.
Penny sized hail fell.
Dime sized hail fell.
Wind damage was reported.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
Structures were damaged by downed trees.
Quarter sized hail fell.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Frederick | 2002-08-03 | 52 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maryland in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, 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: 5314395, 5314396, 5314397, 5314398, 5314399, 5314400, 5314401, 5314449, 5314450, 5314451, 5314452, 5314453, 5314455, 5314454.