New York, 2002Flash Flood and Hail in New York, May 31, 2002
May 31, 2002 · NWS OKX · 10 events in 7 counties and zones
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 10
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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 2:05 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 2:05 PM EST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
305 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002
SCTRD TRW...GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL PSBL THROUGH THIS EVE. COLD FRONT
PASSES TO THE E AFTER MIDNIGHT. HI PRES THEN BUILDS IN RESULTING IN
FAIR WX OVER THE WEEKEND.
MARINE...SCA UP FOR ROUGH SEAS S OF LONG ISL. SEAS EXPECTED TO
BUILD TO AROUND 5 FT THIS EVE.
.OKX...
CT...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
NY...NONE.
MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVIS FOR ROUGH SEAS...ANZ350-353-355.
NONE.
EKH
Event by event
5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Orange
- When
- May 31, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- Orange County, Unionville
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.300, -74.567
As a severe thunderstorm moved rapidly east, it produced high winds that downed a large tree into the roof of a house on Orchard Street in Unionville, and a peak wind gust to 62 mph was measured by a spotter's wind system in Warwick.
Thunderstorm Wind, Putnam
- When
- May 31, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- Putnam County, Patterson
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.517, -73.617
As a severe thunderstorm moved east, it produced high winds that downed several tree limbs in Patterson.
Thunderstorm Wind, Bronx
- When
- May 31, 6:30 PM EST
- Where
- Bronx County, Bronx
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.833, -73.900
As a severe thunderstorm moved east, it produced high winds that downed trees at the intersection of the Henry Hudson Parkway and West 247th Street.
Hail, Nassau
- When
- May 31, 7:05 PM EST
- Where
- Nassau County, Carle Place
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.750, -73.583
Thunderstorm Wind, Westchester
- When
- May 31, 7:13 PM EST
- Where
- Westchester County, White Plains
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.017, -73.783
As a severe thunderstorm moved southeast, it produced high winds that downed tree limbs.
Funnel Cloud, Westchester
- When
- May 31, 7:18 PM EST
- Where
- Westchester County, Scarsdale
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.152, -73.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail, Nassau
- When
- May 31, 7:37 PM EST
- Where
- Nassau County, Port Washington
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.817, -73.700
Thunderstorm Wind, Kings
- When
- May 31, 7:49 PM EST
- Where
- Kings County, Brooklyn
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.650, -73.933
As a severe thunderstorm moved rapidly east, it produced high winds that downed trees and several utility wires at many locations throughout Brooklyn, including: the intersection of Ave. R and East 22nd Street, Flatbush Ave., the intersection of East 56th Street and Ave. H, the intersection of Gerretson Ave. and Ave. T, and at the intersection of Ave. T and East 22nd Street.
Lightning, Suffolk
- When
- May 31, 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Suffolk County, Port Jefferson
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
- Coordinates
- 40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
As a line of thunderstorms moved southeast, lightning struck a house. A fire ignited that caused some damage and one person in the house suffered minor injuries.
Flash Flood, Nassau
- When
- May 31, 8:15 PM EST to 8:30 PM EST
- Where
- Nassau County, Glen Cove
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.732, -73.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorms produced rainfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour, which resulted in widespread flooding of streets and poor drainage areas.
- 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.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 31, 20021 death · 54 injured · $10 million · 1 in hail · 7 events
- Heat in Missouri, May 31, 20022 deaths · 1 event
- Tornado in New York, May 31, 20027 injured · $600,000 · F1 · 1 event
- Rip Current in North Carolina, May 31, 20021 death · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 31, 2002$616,000 · F1 · 30 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002$336,000 · 1.75 in hail · 18 events
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in New Hampshire, May 31, 2002$150,000 · 50 kt wind · 24 events
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maine, May 31, 20021 injured · $60,000 · F1 · 9 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in California, May 31, 2002$300,000 · 50 kt wind · 5 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, May 31, 2002$190,000 · 55 kt wind · 6 events
- Hail in Iowa, May 31, 2002$128,000 · 2 in hail · 6 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002$72,000 · 1.5 in hail · 14 events
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: 5296932, 5296933, 5296934, 5296935, 5296936, 5296937, 5296938, 5296940, 5296941, 5296939.