Oklahoma, 2002

Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 23 to 24, 2002

August 23 to 24, 2002 · NWS OUN · 9 events in 7 counties and zones

4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 23, 12:04 PM CST, 5 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 12:04 PM CST, 5 hours 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
104 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM OVERNITE CONVECTION TO OUR NORTH PUSHED AS FAR
SOUTH AS HBR-PNC..BUT BOUNDARY IS NOW RAPIDLY LOSING DEFINITION AS
INSOLATION WORKS OVER SHALLOW COLD POOL AND STRONG PRESSURE FALLS
COMMENCE ON THE HIGH PLAINS IN RESPONSE TO UNSEASONABLY STRONG UPPER
LEVEL SPEED MAX MIGRATING INTO WRN CO ATTM. THERE MAY BE A SMALL
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR DEEP CONVECTION WITHIN THE DIFFUSE
RETREATING BOUNDARY ZONE OVER NRN OK THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING..BUT
CHANCES APPEAR SMALL ATTM DUE TO WARMING MID LEVEL TEMPS AND
MARGINAL BOUNDARY LAYER MASS CONVERGENCE.  THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME
ISOLATED EVENING ACTIVITY IN THE SW ZONES WHERE VERY DEEP MIXING
WILL OCCUR.

MCS EXPECTED TO ORGANIZE TO OUR N/NW TONITE AND SLIDE SEWD ALONG/N
OF BAROCLINIC RIBBON.  BOUNDARY OVER NRN OK SHUD BE PRIMARY FOCUS
FOR CONVECTION SAT/SUN..WITH APPARENT RISK OF AT LEAST SOME SVR DUE
TO QUITE HEALTHY MID LEVEL FLOW BY AUGUST STANDARDS FOR THIS PART OF
THE WORLD AND STRONGLY VEERING LOW LEVEL WIND PROFILES INVOF
BOUNDARY. HOWEVER..IT MAY BE A LATE SHOW WITH INITIATION AGAIN
OCCURING ON THE HI PLAINS WITH AN MCS MOVING SEWD INTO OK LATE
EVENING OR OVERNITE SAT NITE.

CHANCES FOR PRECIP SHUD TREND DOWNWARD FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE
WEEK..WITH SMALL CHANCES FOR STORMS AGAIN MID WEEK WITH NEXT FRONT
IN NW FLOW ALOFT. THUS..THE REST OF THE FORECAST IS LEFT ESSENTIALLY
UNCHANGED WITH A DRY FORECAST INTRODUCED FOR DAY 7.

OKC   72  94  71  90 /  20  30  40  30
HBR   75  98  72  94 /  10  20  30  30
SPS   76 102  75  98 /  10  10  20  30
GAG   71  95  65  89 /  20  30  30  20
PNC   74  92  67  89 /  30  40  50  20
DUA   75  95  73  93 /  10  20  30  30

.OUN...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 4:51 PM CST, 54 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
551 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

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

0540 PM    14 N CHESTER              OK   60 MPH WIND GUST
08/23/02   MAJOR                          ESTIMATED BY SPOTTER.

TY

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Woodward

When
August 23, 5:45 PM CST
Where
Woodward County, 8 mi N of Quinlan
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
36.567, -99.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Woodward

When
August 23, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Woodward County, 17 mi N of Mooreland
Property damage
$10
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
36.683, -99.200

Four inch diameter tree limbs were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kingfisher

When
August 23, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Kingfisher County, Okarche
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
STORM CHASER
Coordinates
35.733, -97.967

Hail, Noble

When
August 23, 10:00 PM CST
Where
Noble County, 3 mi W of Perry
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.300, -97.333

Hail, Kay

When
August 23, 10:30 PM CST
Where
Kay County, 1 mi E of Kaw City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.767, -96.817

Hail, Noble

When
August 23, 10:45 PM CST
Where
Noble County, 6 mi S of Billings
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
36.450, -97.433

Lightning, Oklahoma

When
August 23, 11:40 PM CST
Where
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
35.552, -97.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck a building on Vermont Ave., causing a fire.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When
August 24, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Lincoln County, 8 mi S of Wellston
Property damage
$10
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
35.567, -97.067

Eight inch diameter tree limbs were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Alfalfa

When
August 24, 4:50 AM CST
Where
Alfalfa County, Cherokee
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.750, -98.350

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, 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: 5312200, 5312207, 5312201, 5312204, 5312202, 5312205, 5312208, 5312206, 5312203.