New Hampshire, 2002

Damaging Wind in New Hampshire, August 16, 2002

August 16, 2002 · NWS GYX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Winds from a severe thunderstorm downed large tree limbs onto power lines in Charlestown.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 GYX wrote it up.

Winds from a severe thunderstorm downed large tree limbs onto power lines in Charlestown.

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 Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 1:45 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 1:45 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
245 PM EDT FRI AUG 16 2002

SYNOPSIS...A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA TONIGHT.  A SECOND COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA SUNDAY
NIGHT.  HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN BEHIND THE SECOND FRONT MONDAY
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

PUBLIC FORECAST...PULSE TYPE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL
MORE HOURS...THEN DISSIPATE WITH LOSS OF SURFACE HEATING THIS
EVENING.  SOME SUPPORT FOR A FEW THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE INTO THE
EVENING IN THE MOUNTAIN ZONES SO WILL INCLUDE FOR EARLY TONIGHT.
POTENTIAL FOR PATCHY FOG LATER TONIGHT ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT
RECEIVED A SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM TODAY.  FIRST COLD FRONT WEAKENS
AS IT MOVES THROUGH TONIGHT AND ONLY SLIGHT COOLING AND DEW POINT
DRYING BEHIND THIS FRONT FOR SATURDAY.  EXPECT MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES
AND WARM TEMPERATURES WITH A BIT LESS HUMIDITY SATURDAY.  CLOUDS AND
SCATTERED CONVECTION MOVE IN SUNDAY AHEAD OF THE SECOND COLD FRONT.
AVN MODEL HAS BEEN CONSISTENT IN BRINGING IN COOLER AND DRIER AIR
BEHIND THIS FRONT FOR NEXT WEEK AND WILL FOLLOW THIS TREND FOR THE
MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST.  MOS TEMPERATURES AND POPS LOOK OKAY AND WILL
ONLY MAKE MINOR CHANGES.  PWKWRKZFP AVAILABLE FOR COORDINATION.

MARINE FORECAST...WINDS AND SEAS EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SMALL
CRAFT CRITERIA THROUGH THE SHORT TERM.  NO FLAGS.

FCSTID = 7

.GYX...
ME...NONE.
NH...NONE.

WHEELER

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 16, 2:34 PM EST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY, ME
334 PM EDT FRI AUG 16 2002

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0224 PM    LEBANON                   ME   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   YORK                           TREES AND WIRES DOWN
                                          REPORTED BY YORK COUNTY
                                          EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

0230 PM    2 NW SANFORD              ME   WIND DAMAGE
08/16/02   YORK                           WIRES DOWN IN SPRINGVALE
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTERS

0305 PM    ARUNDEL                   ME   .75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   YORK                           REPORTED BY
SPOTTERS

WHEELER

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 152 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sullivan

When
August 16, 4:05 PM EST
Where
Sullivan County, Charlestown
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.250, -72.433

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

More

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, August 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: 5317232.