4 flash 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 Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 25, 9:00 PM EST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 1000 PM EDT SUN AUG 25 2002 CURRENT FORECAST ON TRACK. SURFACE FRONT ACROSS SOUTHEAST CORNER OF NC WITH SURFACE LOW NEARBY. PCPN IN PIEDMONT IS STARTING TO PIVOT AROUND THE STALLING UPPER LOW. THIS IS A GOOD SIGN THAT THE MODELS ARE CORRECT AND THAT NC IS IN FOR SOME DECENT RAIN. EXPECT PCPN TO CONTINUE TO FILL IN AS NEXT S/W BOTTOMS OUT AND HEADS AROUND THE LOW. .RAH...NONE. GL
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:45 UTC.
4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous roads and buisnesses were flooded near Henderson. One man died when attempting to cross a flooded road in his truck on N.C.39 at Nutbush Creek.
A creek overflowed its banks near Saratoga Drive and New Hope Church Road. Some apartments and vehicles were flooded.
High water blocked highways 264 and 301 in Wilson. Some people were evacuated to shelters. Stranded motorists had to be rescued by boat.
Several roads were closed due to high water in southwest Nash County.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Vance | 2002-08-26 | 42 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | 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: 5313743, 5313744, 5313745, 5313746.