4 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 1:28 PM CST, 4 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTION TO ADD FLOOD WATCH POINTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO 228 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002 LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG/SEVERE CONVECTION EMINENT FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. COLD FRONT CURRENTLY SITUATED OVER CENTRAL KS WILL CONTINUE MOVING EWD...REACHING THE WRN CWA BY 00Z. AIRMASS AHEAD OF THE FRONT DEFINITELY SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE ACTIVITY...WITH CAPES IN EXCESS OF 3500 J/KG AND LIFTED INDICES NEAR -10. THINK ACTIVITY WILL DEVELOP RAPIDLY IN SERN NE/NWRN MO LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS SYNOPTIC FORCING INCREASES AND MID LEVEL COOLING DECREASES CAP...FORM INTO A SQUALL LINE...AND MOVE THROUGH THE REST OF THE CWA. EXPECT THE PRIMARY THREATS TO BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL AS THE SQUALL LINE MOVES THROUGH. THERE WILL ALSO BE A THREAT OF TORNADOS EARLY IN THE STORMS EVOLUTION. THE LINE SHOULD MOVE RELATIVELY FAST...BUT SOIL IS ALREADY SO HEAVILY SATURATED AND PWS ARE ABOVE 1.5 INCHES...SO HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE CWA FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM THURSDAY. THINK SHOWERS WILL MOVE OUT OF ENTIRE CWA BY 12Z...WITH A COOLER...DRIER...AND WINDIER DAY IN STORE FOR TOMORROW. SCHMIT 1049 AM... FOR DAYS 3 THRU 7 (SAT THRU WED TIMEFRAME)...MODELS IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT DIGGING UPPER LOW INTO W CONUS FRI BEFORE EJECTING THIS FEATURE ACROSS THE REGION SUNDAY. AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE...SLY FLOW PROGGED TO DEVELOP FRI ALLOWING WARM FRONT TO LIFT NORTHWARD INTO REGION FRI NIGHT. MODELS IN SOME DISAGREEMENT WHERE THIS FRONT WILL END UP...WITH AVN/UK PROGGING BOUNDARY TO STALL ACROSS N MO SAT...WHILE EC PROGS THIS BOUNDARY TO LIFT NWD INTO IA. HAVE GENERALLY SIDED WITH AVN POSITIONING OF THIS FEATURE...AND INTRODUCED POPS LATE FRI NIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH NOSE OF LLJ INTERSECTING WARM FRONT. HAVE TRENDED POPS SLIGHTLY HIGHER ACROSS N ZONES FRI NIGHT AND SAT. FRONT REMAINS ACROSS CWA SAT AS WAVE DEVELOPS ALONG BOUNDARY...WITH SFC LOW TRACKING ACROSS MO SAT NIGHT. UPPER LOW PROGGED TO EJECT ACROSS REGION DURING THE DAY SUN...SO HAVE KEPT 30 POPS THRU DAYTIME HOURS ACROSS CWA...WITH LINGERING CHANCE SUN EVENING ACROSS E ZONES. OTHERWISE WNW FLOW DEVELOPS ACROSS REGION FOR THE FIRST HALF OF UPCOMING WEEK. SFC RIDGE PROGGED TO SETTLE ACROSS CWA MON NIGHT/TUES ALLOWING COOLER TEMPS TO WORK INTO CWA...BEFORE SLY FLOW RETURNS WED. MS 450 AM... THE FLOOD WATCH WILL BE CANCELED FOR THE NORTH HALF OF THE CWA THIS MORNING AS MOST OF THE OVERNIGHT PRECIP REMAINED SOUTH OF A ST JOSEPH...CHILLICOTHE...MACON LINE. THE WATCH WILL BE CONTINUED UNTIL NOON FOR THE SOUTHERN HALF BASED ON SATURATED CONDITIONS AND THE EXPECTATION OF POSSIBLY MORE SHOWERS THROUGH THE MID MORNING HOURS. WITH THE AVN/META AGREEING ON THE LLJ MOVING INTO THE SOUTHWEST MISSOURI EARLY THIS MORNING...I HAVE KEPT THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN FOR THE SOUTH HALF OF THE CWA. FOR THIS AFTERNOON I EXPECT THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TO START IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE STATE AS THE SURFACE LOW IN WEST KANSAS LIFTS TO THE NORTHEAST AND DRAGS A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE REGION. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN BEHIND TODAYS COLD FRONT GIVING US A BREAK FROM THE CONVECTION UNTIL SATURDAY. FOR THE WEEKEND THE AVN/MRF SHOW THAT ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SLIDE IN TO WEST KANSAS. AS THE LOW SLIDES INTO THE MIDWEST WAA ACROSS THE STATE LOOKS TO PICKUP AS A WARM FRONT MOVES NORTH. WITH A 50+ DEWPOINT TONG MOVING INTO MO WITH THE FRONT...I HAVE INTRODUCED CHANCE THUNDERSTORM POPS BEGINNING SATURDAY. ALSO COOLED TEMPS A FEW DEGREES BASED ON EXPECTATION OF CLOUD COVER WITH THE WAA AND H85 TEMPS ONLY PROGGED TO HIT THE 12-14 DEGREE MARK. CUTTER .EAX... KS...FLOOD WATCH FROM 600 PM CDT WEDNESDAY UNTIL 600 AM CDT THURSDAY FOR ZONES KSZ057...KSZ060...KSZ103>105. MO...FLOOD WATCH FROM 600 PM CDT WEDNESDAY UNTIL 600 AM CDT THURSDAY FOR ZONES MOZ028>033...MOZ037>040...MOZ043>046...MOZ053>054.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
540 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0532 PM CORDER MO 70 MPH TSTM GUST
05/08/02 LAFAYETTE REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
600 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0555 PM ELMO MO 1 INCH HAIL
05/08/02 NODAWAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
632 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0627 PM HOPKINS MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/02 NODAWAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0628 PM 4 W TONGANOXIE KS 60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/08/02 LEAVENWORTHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
641 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0638 PM MOBERLY MO .88 INCH HAIL
05/08/02 RANDOLPH
0638 PM 3 SW MOBERLY MO 75 MPH TSTM GUST
05/08/02 RANDOLPH LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWNPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
655 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0643 PM 4 SW LANSING KS TORNADO
05/08/02 LEAVENWORTH REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0643 PM EDWARDSVILLE KS 60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/08/02 WYANDOTTEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
700 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0656 PM PLATTE CITY MO 70 MPH TSTM GUST
05/08/02 PLATTE REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Missouri River near Boonville crested 6.1 feet above flood stage.
Wakenda Creek in Carrollton crested 2.3 feet above flood stage.
Moderate flooding reported on the Lamine River near Otterville. It crested 6 feet above flood stage.
Grand River near Brunswick crested 0.3 feet above flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, May 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: 5293836, 5295283, 5295285, 5295284.