Thunderstorm Wind, Benton
- When
- July 4, 12:45 PM CST to 12:50 PM CST
- Where
- Benton County, Zora
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph)
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.283, -93.100
Damaging Wind in Missouri, July 4, 2002
70 mph winds caused damage to a resort and marina near the Lake of the Ozarks. Two docks were capsized and several boats were thrown ashore.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 SGF wrote it up.
70 mph winds caused damage to a resort and marina near the Lake of the Ozarks. Two docks were capsized and several boats were thrown ashore. There was also extensive tree and property damage in the resort area.
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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 2:00 AM CST, 10 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 2:00 AM CST, 10 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 300 AM CDT THU JUL 4 2002 STAGNANT PATTERN CONTINUES OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING WITH WEAK UPPER LOW OVER WEST TEXAS AND SHEAR AXIS JUST TO OUR WEST. HIGH CLOUDS CONTINUE TO STREAM OVER MUCH OF THE AREA. DECENT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN IN PLACE WITH SHOWERS AND STORMS EXPECTED ONCE AGAIN...AS AFTERNOON HEATING BRINGS CAPES UP TO AROUND 1000 J/KG. AS FAR AS TEMPS GO WILL EDGE UP A COUPLE OF DEGREES OVER THE EAST...WHERE CLOUDS WILL BE LESS DENSE. PERSISTENCE TEMP FORECAST WILL WORK FOR THE REST OF THE AREA. CANT COMPLETELY RULE OUT A SHOWER OR TWO OVER THE WEEKEND WITH AFTERNOON CAPES OVER 2000 J/KG...BUT WILL CONTINUE WITH DRY FORECAST OVER THE WEEKEND AS MODELS CONTINUE TO DRIFT UPPER LOW AND DEEPER MOISTURE TO THE WEST AND UPPER HIGH BUILDS OVER EASTERN MISSOURI. WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES WARMER OVER THE WEEKEND ALSO. THE LAST COUPLE OF RUNS ON THE AVN INDICATE A DECENT SHORTWAVE MOVING INTO THE REGION LATE MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS NORTHWEST FLOW SETS UP OVER THE AREA. ONLY MODIFICATION TO EXTENDED FORECAST WILL BE TO BRING POPS IN ABOUT 12 HOURS EARLIER. NO OTHER CHANGES EXPECTED. THANKS FOR COORD STL/CENTRAL CLUSTER. ISC GRIDS ARE OUT. .SGF... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. MMT
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 4, 12:00 PM CST, 45 minutes before
KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-042300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 100 PM CDT THU JUL 4 2002 * HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK THROUGH TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH ISOLATED WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. * AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING... ALL AREAS THROUGH 9 PM. * SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED DUE TO THE ISOLATED NATURE OF THE SEVERE WEATHER...BUT EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND WEATHER SPOTTERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR LOCAL THUNDERSTORM TRENDS IN THEIR AREA. * DISCUSSION... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST THROUGH EARLY EVENING. LOCALIZED DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE BUT ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. STRONGER STORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN. FREQUENT LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED FROM ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP. ANYONE PLANNING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES SHOULD PLAN FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. * EXTENDED OUTLOOK... ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY BUT THE OVERALL RAIN CHANCES WILL BE LESS THAN IN PAST DAYS. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH INTO THE AREA TUESDAY BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS. DSA
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:44 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 4, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 4, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Vermont, July 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, July 4, 2002
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Florida, July 4, 2002
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 4, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, July 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 4, 2002
- Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, July 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 4, 2002
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 4, 2002
More
Every storm in Missouri in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, 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: 5306575.