Thunderstorm Wind, Athens
- When
- May 31, 7:40 PM EST
- Where
- Athens County, Athens
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.333, -82.100
Trees and large branches were blown down
Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002
Thunderstorms formed out ahead of a cold front. In addition to the isolated wind damage, a few spots got localized downpours.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 RLX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms formed out ahead of a cold front. In addition to the isolated wind damage, a few spots got localized downpours. Carpenter of Meigs County measured 1.5 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes.
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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 31, 4:13 PM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 4:13 PM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 513 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002 UPDATING ZNS FOR SVR WATCH 362 -----------------PVS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS------------------- SHORT RANGE TONIGHT-SUN NIGHT... LOOKING AT SFC CONDITIONS AND SAT IMGS...FRONT LOOKS TO BE POSITIONED ACROSS NORTHERN OH INTO CENTRAL IN. THIS FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY SAG SOUTHWARD TOWARDS THE CWA. AS A RESULT...SCATTERED TSTMS ACROSS THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS AND MIDDLE OHIO VALLEY TONIGHT. ANY STORM CAN BE A TALL ONE. MORE WIND ACRS NRN COUNTIES LIMITING RAIN TOTALS BUT INCRG GUST POTENTIAL. SRN CWA HIR RAINFALL TOTAL POTENTIAL WITH 850 MB DEW POINTS PROG TO BE NR 15-17C TNGT - WHEN IT RAINS - IT POURS. OF COURSE...MANY AREAS HAVE SEEN TOP SOIL DRY OUT AND SFC WATER FLOW DECREASE DURING THIS WEEK. A FEW MORE WATCH BOXES PSBL THIS EVENING ALG THE FRONTAL ZONE FM SPC. WE CHECKED ON AVAILABILITY 4 EXTRA STAFF TNGT. EXPECTING THINGS TO SETTLE DOWN A LITTLE AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE NORTH...WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAINING ACROSS THE SOUTH. SATURDAY...FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BASICALLY LINGER AND WOBBLE AROUND SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL CWA. LEFT OUT WORDING OF PRECIP/TSTORMS UNTIL AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LEFT NRN CWA DRY FOR DAY ON SAT. EXTENDED MON-FRI... NO BIG CHANGES WITH FRONTAL ZONE OSCILLATING IN UP OH VLY. ONE OF THE DAYS OR NIGHTS MAY BE DRY...LIKE WED...BUT CAN NOT REMOVE POPS AT THIS DISTANCE. WILL HAVE DAY 7/FRI DRY BEHIND FRONTAL WAVE FOR NOW. .RLX... WV...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 1100 PM FOR ZONE WVC095. VA...NONE. KY...NONE. OH...NONE. .END/
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 31, 2:55 PM EST, 4 hours 45 minutes before
KYZ101>103-105-OHZ066-067-075-076-083>087-WVZ005>011-013-014-017-019- 020-312200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 355 PM EDT FRI MAY 31 2002 THUNDERSTORMS WITH BRIEF DOWNPOURS ARE STILL POSSIBLE TONIGHT. DESPITE THE LACK OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN OUR VICINITY AROUND 4 OCLOCK...THUNDERSTORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE TONIGHT. STORMS WILL BE DEVELOPING LATE THIS AFTERNOON...ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY FROM NORTH OF COLUMBUS OHIO...ON WEST...TO NEAR INDIANAPOLIS. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST...AND COULD REACH OUR VICINITY...DURING THE EVENING HOURS. IF YOU HAVE OUTDOOR PLANS THIS FRIDAY EVENING...MONITOR THE WESTERN AND NORTHWESTERN HORIZON FOR INDICATIONS OF APPROACHING THUNDERSTORMS. ANY STORM COULD CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS AND A DOWNPOUR. END / KTB
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Vinton
- When
- May 31, 7:50 PM EST
- Where
- Vinton County, 1 mi N of Creola
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.333, -82.467
Large tree branches were snapped off.
Thunderstorm Wind, Meigs
- When
- May 31, 8:20 PM EST
- Where
- Meigs County, Rutland
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.050, -82.133
Fallen trees disrupted electrical service
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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 31, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, May 31, 2002
- Tornado in New York, May 31, 2002
- Rip Current in North Carolina, May 31, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in New Hampshire, May 31, 2002
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maine, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in California, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, May 31, 2002
- Hail in Iowa, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002
More
Every storm in Ohio in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, May 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: 5291416, 5291417, 5291418.