Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 12, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 12, 2002
Start: 2002-05-12T18:04
End: 2002-05-12T18:09
Location: Missouri

May 12, 2002 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 1 county or zone

1 hail, 1 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 1:44 PM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 1:44 PM CST, 4 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
244 PM CDT SUN MAY 12 2002

PRIMARY FOCUS REMAINS THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH
FLOODING TONIGHT. RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGES CONTINUE TO INDICATE
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE MIDWEST.
WILL RAISE POPS TO 100 PERCENT AREA-WIDE TONIGHT. AVN CONTINUES TO
HINT AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SURFACE WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE ALONG THE
FRONT TONIGHT. THIS COMBINED WITH WARM MOIST AIR LIFTED OVER THE
BOUNDARY WILL KEEP THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAIN IN PLACE. ONE TO AS
MUCH AS THREE INCHES OF RAIN IS ANTICIPATED BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION
COMES TO AN END EARLY MONDAY MORNING...SO WILL MAINTAIN THE FLOOD
WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE AREA TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. SEVERE THREAT
LOOKS MARGINAL GIVEN THE LACK OF A FOCUSING MECHANISM AT THE ONSET
OF THE ACTIVITY...IN ADDITION TO MARGINAL SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY
AND RELATIVELY WARM FREEZING LEVELS. IF ANYTHING DOES GO SEVERE...
BELIEVE MAIN THREAT WILL BE ISOLATED LARGE HAIL.

BY MONDAY MORNING...THE COLD FRONT IS PROGGED EAST OF THE AREA.
HOWEVER...WILL KEEP A MENTION OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING OVER MAINLY
CENTRAL AND EASTERN COUNTIES. CLEARING WILL ENSUE THROUGH THE COURSE
OF THE DAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE AND DRIER AIR FILTERS
IN. TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY STILL LOOK DRY. LATEST 12Z AVN TRIES TO
BRUSH THE AREA WITH SHOWER ACTIVITY ON THURSDAY...BUT WILL HOLD OFF
FOR NOW GIVEN THE SLIGHTLY MORE NORTHWARD SURFACE LOW/FRONTAL
POSITION PROGGED BY THE LATEST MRF/CANADIAN/ECMWF MODELS. WILL
MAINTAIN CHANCE WORDING FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS ANOTHER VIGOROUS
STORM SYSTEM INFLUENCES THE AREA.

OVERALL...CURRENT FORECAST IS ON TRACK AND WILL MAKE MINIMAL CHANGES
TO THE OFFICIAL GRIDDED DATABASE. GENERALLY FOLLOWED A BLEND OF
FWC/MAV NUMBERS FOR THE FIRST TWO PERIODS...AND CLOSELY FOLLOWED
MAV/MEX GUIDANCE THEREAFTER.

.PAH...FLOOD WATCH (FFA) FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN
       ILLINOIS...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA FOR TONIGHT
       AND EARLY MONDAY.

PRESLEY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 12, 5:30 PM CST, 34 minutes before

ILZ075>078-080>091-INZ081-085-086-MOZ076-086-087-100-130400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
630 PM CDT SUN MAY 12 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 293 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM CDT FOR
PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...AND SOUTHWEST
INDIANA...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...

PERRY...WAYNE...BOLLINGER...AND CAPE GIRARDEAU.

IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...

JEFFERSON...WAYNE...EDWARDS...WABASH...PERRY...FRANKLIN...HAMILTON...
WHITE...JACKSON...WILLIAMSON...SALINE...GALLATIN...UNION...JOHNSON...
POPE...AND HARDIN.

IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA...

GIBSON...POSEY...AND VANDERBURGH.

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION THIS EVENING. AHEAD OF THIS
FRONT...A CLUSTER OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO
PUSH ACROSS THE WATCH AREA. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING BOTH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. AN ISOLATED
TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE
TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE READY TO TAKE
IMMEDIATE ACTION IN THE EVENT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES OR A
WARNING IS ISSUED.

IF YOU OBSERVE SEVERE WEATHER...PLEASE ENSURE YOUR REPORTS ARE
RELAYED TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR CALLED DIRECTLY
INTO THE SPOTTER HOTLINE.

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Perry

When: May 12, 6:04 PM CST
Where: Perry County, Brewer
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.783, -89.917

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: May 12, 6:09 PM CST
Where: Perry County, Lithium
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.833, -89.883

Trees were blown down.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

Every storm in Missouri in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, May 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: 5295492, 5295493.