1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Newport/Morehead City, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 24, 1:39 PM EST, 6 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC 239 PM EDT SAT AUG 24 2002 SFC TROF INLAND TO MV TO THE COAST TONIGHT. IN THE MEANTIME...SHRA AND TSRA DVLPG TO OUR N AND NW EXPECTED TO MV INTO AT LEAST OUR NRN CWA. AS THE BNDRY AND WEAK UPR VORT MVS EAST TNGT...ACTIVITY TO OUR N MAY LATER MV OR DVLP TOWARD THE COAST. WL FORECAST 40 POPS AND CALL IT SCTTRD COVERAGE TNGT (BULK OF ACTIVITY EVENING HOURS). BNDRY WEAKENS ALONG THE COAST ON SUN...AND SO DOES CONVERGENCE AS PGRAD WEAKENS. INLAND...DRIER AIR ADVECTS FRM THE NW BEHIND THE BNDRY...SO THAT SHUD TAKE THE EDGE OFF THE HEAT/HUMIDITY WEVE SEEN THE PAST 2 DAYS. ATTM IT APPEARS HEAT ADVISORY WILL NOT BE NEEDED FOR SUN GIVEN SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS AND DWPTS WHICH DECREASE 2-5 DEGREES. THE PROXIMITY OF THE BNDRY NORMALLY WARRANTS A CHANCE POP...BUT GIVEN THE WEAK FLOW/CONVERGENCE...WL ONLY INCLUDE A 10-20 POP SUN/SUN NIGHT...HIGHEST ALONG THE COAST NEARER THE BNDRY. BY MON...A 5H CLOSED LOW MVS ACROSS AND JUST S THE OH RVR VLY. BY 18Z MON DEEP LAYER FLOW BECOMES ONSHORE WITH PWAT ON THE INCRS. THE BEST CHNC FOR RAIN NOW APPEARS MON EVE/NIGHT INTO TUE AS THE BNDRY MVS NORTH THRU THE AREA. WE WOULD HAVE AN EVEN BETTER CHANCE FOR PROLONGED RAIN IF THE UPR LOW WAS A LITTLE CLOSER TO US...HOWEVER LATEST PROGS NOW RETROGRADE THE LOW W AND THE UPR RIDGE OFFSHORE BUILDS WEST TOWARD OUR AREA. WL DECREASE POPS WED/THU...AND REMOVE POPS FOR FRI/SAT AS URP RIDGE BUILDS WESTWARD. MARINE...ALBEIT MARGINAL WILL GO WITH SCA FOR WATERS FROM OCRACOKE INLET N TONIGHT AS GRADIENT TIGHTENS PLUS VORT MOVING THROUGH THE REGION. WILL SEPARATE SOUNDS AND INCLUDE PAMLICO IN SCA ALTHOUGH MAINLY E PART WILL HAVE SCA WINDS. S OF OCRACOKE WILL GO WITH SCSEC. WINDS DECREASE LATE TONIGHT AND DO NOT EXPECT WINDS GREATER THAN 15 KT SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. GRADIENT TIGHTENS AGAIN TUE WITH S FLOW AFTER WARM FRONT MOVES N. RIP CURRENT...WITH OFFSHORE WINDS TOMORROW EXPECT LOW THREAT. .MHX...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR N OF OCRACOKE INLET AND PAMLICO SOUND. NP/WS
NCZ029-044-079-242300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT-MOREHEAD CITY NC 557 PM EDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT PITT...MARTIN AND GREENE COUNTIES UNTIL 700 PM EDT... AT 557 PM EDT...THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF WILLIAMSTON TO 28 MILES WEST OF GREENVILLE...OR FROM 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF WILLIAMSTON TO 13 MILES SOUTH OF WILSON...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR GREENVILLE AT 615 PM EDT. WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. THESE STORMS ARE PRODUCING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THE WEATHER SITUATION ACROSS THE AREA. CTC
NCZ046-047-103-250000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT-MOREHEAD CITY NC 653 PM EDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT MAINLAND DARE...OUTER BANKS DARE AND TYRRELL COUNTIES UNTIL 800 PM EDT... AT 653 PM EDT...THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM KILL DEVIL HILLS TO 11 MILES WEST OF COLUMBIA...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR NAGS HEAD AT 715 PM EDT. OTHER LOCATIONS TO BE AFFECTED BY THE STORMS INCLUDE MANNS HARBOR AND MANTEO. WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. THIS STORM IS PRODUCING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THE WEATHER SITUATION ACROSS THE AREA. CTC
NCZ045-080-104-250015- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT-MOREHEAD CITY NC 718 PM EDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT OUTER BANKS HYDE...WASHINGTON AND BEAUFORT COUNTIES UNTIL 815 PM EDT... AT 718 PM EDT...THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 19 MILES NORTH OF BELHAVEN TO 38 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BELHAVEN...OR FROM 14 MILES EAST OF PLYMOUTH TO 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF NEW BERN...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR BELHAVEN AT 725 PM EDT. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. THIS STORM IS PRODUCING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THE WEATHER SITUATION ACROSS THE AREA. CTC
NCZ047-080-081-090-092>095-098-103-104-250100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT-MOREHEAD CITY NC 801 PM EDT SAT AUG 24 2002 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT ONSLOW...CARTERET...OUTER BANKS HYDE...MAINLAND HYDE...CRAVEN...JONES...DUPLIN...PAMLICO... BEAUFORT...MAINLAND DARE AND OUTER BANKS DARE COUNTIES UNTIL 900 PM EDT... AT 801 PM EDT...THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 31 MILES NORTHEAST OF ENGELHARD TO 25 MILES WEST OF WALLACE...OR FROM 7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MANTEO TO 11 MILES EAST OF ELIZABETHTOWN...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR TRENT WOODS AT 810 PM EDT...VANDEMERE AT 815 PM EDT...RODANTHE AT 820 PM EDT... WHORTONSVILLE AT 825 PM EDT...SALVO AT 830 PM EDT...VERONA AT 835 PM EDT. OTHER LOCATIONS TO BE AFFECTED BY THE STORMS INCLUDE ATLANTIC BEACH...BAYBORO...BEAUFORT...BEULAVILLE...BUXTON...CEDAR ISLAND... EMERALD ISLE...FRISCO...HARKERS ISLAND...HATTERAS VILLAGE... HAVELOCK...JACKSONVILLE...MOREHEAD CITY...NEW BERN...NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH...OCRACOKE...ORIENTAL...SWANSBORO...SWANQUARTER AND TRENTON. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. THIS STORM IS PRODUCING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THE WEATHER SITUATION ACROSS THE AREA. CTC
The Morehead City radar (KMHX), 150 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:00 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck 5 people attempting to dig a vehicle out of the sand. One woman was killed and 4 others were injured, one seriously.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Dare | 2002-08-24 | 18 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, August 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: 5314350.