Mississippi, 2002

Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Mississippi, October 2 to 3, 2002

October 2 to 3, 2002 · NWS LIX · 11 events in 8 counties and zones

Hurricane Lili, a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, during the daylight hours of October 2, 2002 moved steadily northwest around 15 mph toward the Louisiana coast during the evening hour. The hurricane weakened rapidly to a Saffir Simpson Scale Category 1 Hurricane by the time it made landfall during the morning of October 3rd along the south central Louisiana coast.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
$13 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 happened

The episode as NWS LIX wrote it up.

Hurricane Lili, a major hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, during the daylight hours of October 2, 2002 moved steadily northwest around 15 mph toward the Louisiana coast during the evening hour. The hurricane weakened rapidly to a Saffir Simpson Scale Category 1 Hurricane by the time it made landfall during the morning of October 3rd along the south central Louisiana coast. The hurricane moved north northwest across south central Louisiana before turning northeast across the northern portion of the Louisiana. While Hurricane Lili made landfall in south central Louisiana, tropical storm force wind gusts affected nearly all of south Mississippi during October 3rd as rainbands moved across the southern portion of the state. Storm surge flooding affected the coastal areas with tides generally 3 to 5 feet above normal along the coastal areas causing some flooding in low lying coastal areas, but storm surge flooding was less severe and damaging than during Tropical Storm Isidore a week earlier. The highest recorded wind gusts on October 3rd was 43 mph at 1441 CST at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. Over inland portions of southwest Missisippi some trees were knocked down by strong wind gusts. Several weak, short lived tornadoes touched down, however property damage was generally minor.

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 New Orleans, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 2, 4:06 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 2, 4:06 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 tropical storm, 3 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tropical Storm, Amite

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Amite forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.174, -90.804 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tropical Storm, Hancock

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Tropical Storm, Harrison

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Harrison forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Tropical Storm, Jackson

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Tropical Storm, Pearl River

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Pearl River forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
30.769, -89.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tropical Storm, Pike

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.175, -90.404 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tropical Storm, Walthall

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Walthall forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.148, -90.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tropical Storm, Wilkinson

When
October 2, 6:00 PM CST to October 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Wilkinson forecast zone
Property damage
$1.7 million
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.161, -91.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Hancock

When
October 3, 10:00 AM CST
Where
Hancock County, 5 mi N of Diamondhead Arpt
Rating
F0
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
30.433, -89.367

A weak tornado touched down briefly downing several trees.

Tornado, Pearl River

When
October 3, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Pearl River County, Crossroads
Rating
F0
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
30.783, -89.767

A weak tornado touched down downing trees.

Tornado, Harrison

When
October 3, 2:50 PM CST
Where
Harrison County, 10 mi N of Biloxi
Rating
F0
Path length
0.3 mi
Path width
30 yd
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
30.550, -88.900

Law enforcement reported a weak tornado touched down. No damage was reported.

What these are

Tropical Storm
A tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph).
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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 historyThe tornado archive for Mississippi, 2002Warnings in Mississippi, October 2002The 2002 hurricane season

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5322611, 5322612, 5322613, 5322614, 5322615, 5322667, 5322668, 5322669, 5322608, 5322609, 5322610.