Mississippi, 2002

Damaging Winds in Mississippi, August 20, 2002

August 20, 2002 · NWS MEG · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 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
$20,000
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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 20, 2:10 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 2:10 PM CST, 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
310 PM CDT TUE AUG 20 2002

INSTABILITY ANALYSIS INDICATES A RIDGE OF AVAILABLE ENERGY FROM
WALNUT RIDGE...TO MEMPHIS...TO TUPELO. LOCAL RADARS INDICATE WIDELY
SCATTERED CONVECTION AFFECTING PORTIONS OF THE CWA. MOST NUMEROUS
ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A MID LEVEL SHEAR AXIS...CENTERED OVER
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. EXPECT A DECREASE IN CONVECTION WITH THE LOSS
OF HEATING.

WARM AND GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE REST OF
THE SHORT TERM PERIODS...AS MID LEVEL HEIGHTS RISE...AND SURFACE
HIGH PRESSURE BUILD INTO THE REGION.

MEDIUM RANGE MODEL OUTPUT SUGGESTS OVERALL UPPER PATTERNS ACROSS
NORTH AMERICA WILL UNDERGO SOME AMPLIFICATION BY THE END OF THE
WEEK. EXPECT A FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO APPROACH THE REGION FOR SATURDAY
AND EARLY SUNDAY.

.MEG...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Tishomingo

When
August 20, 3:00 PM CST to 3:05 PM CST
Where
Tishomingo County, Iuka
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
34.833, -88.167

A carport and several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Itawamba

When
August 20, 4:37 PM CST to 4:45 PM CST
Where
Itawamba County, Tilden
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.183, -88.350

A few trees were knocked down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe

When
August 20, 6:05 PM CST to 6:10 PM CST
Where
Monroe County, Aberdeen
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
33.817, -88.550

Several trees were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall

When
August 20, 7:00 PM CST to 7:05 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, Holly Spgs
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
34.767, -89.450

Some trees were knocked down.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Mississippi in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, 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: 5315483, 5315484, 5315485, 5315486.