Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Missouri, September 19, 2002

Name: Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Missouri, September 19, 2002
Start: 2002-09-19T15:30
End: 2002-09-19T15:30
Location: Missouri

September 19, 2002 · NWS LSX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

St. Louis Police reported a tree fell on a house in south St.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: $15,000
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 happened

The episode as NWS LSX wrote it up.

St. Louis Police reported a tree fell on a house in south St. Louis. About 3 blocks away, lightning struck a house and started a fire.

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 19, 12:30 PM CST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 19, 12:30 PM CST, 3 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
130 PM CDT THU SEP 19 2002

MODELS ARE ADVERTIZING SMLR SCENERIO IN INDICATING STRONG SHOT OF
PVA ACROS THE RGN TNGT.  AVN RMNS LTL FASTR WITH SYSTM THAN ETA OR
NGM. SGNFNT MSTR WILL BE AVBL TNGT WITH PRECPTL WTR VALUES OF 1.5
INCHES OR MORE FCST ACRS MOST OF THE RGN BEFORE DRIER AIR MOVES IN
FM THE W ON FRI.  AVN IS MOST AGGRESSIVE OF THE MODELS IN BRINGING
IN THE DRIER AIR.

NEXT BATCH OF SHWRS/TSTMS CURRENTLY ROLLG OUT OF AR INTO S CNTRL/SE
MO. CATEGORICAL POPS NEEDED FOR MST OF THE CWA TNGT EXCEPT CNTRL/NE
MO AND WILL FOLLOW A BLEND OF THE POPS GUIDANCE.

IN THE EXTNDD PD, THE MRF AND UKMET ARE SHOWING A DEEPR H5 TROF OVR
THE CNTRL/ERN U.S. THAN THE ECMWF FOR MON EVE WITH HI PARKED OVR THE
DESERT SW. LARGE SFC HI WILL DOMINATE WX PTRN THRU THE PD.  12Z
UPDATED AVN RUN A CARBON COPY OF 00Z MRF RUN WITH ZERO 850 TEMP DWN
TO MO/IA BDR BY 12Z TUE.  MOTHER NATURE WILL BALANCE OUT OUR HOT
SPELL RIGHT AFTR LABOR DAY WITH BLO NRML TEMPS MUCH OF NXT WEEK.

.STL...NONE

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Louis (C)

When: September 19, 3:30 PM CST
Where: St. Louis (C) County, St Louis
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.650, -90.250

Lightning, St. Louis (C)

When: September 19, 3:30 PM CST
Where: St. Louis (C) County, St Louis
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.627, -90.198 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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, September 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: 5316897, 5316898.