Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, August 23, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, August 23, 2002
Start: 2002-08-23T17:19
End: 2002-08-23T17:49
Location: Oklahoma

August 23, 2002 · NWS AMA · 5 events in 1 county or zone

Severe thunderstorms producing high winds and large hail moved through the eastern Oklahoma panhandle during the early evening hours.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 AMA wrote it up.

Severe thunderstorms producing high winds and large hail moved through the eastern Oklahoma panhandle during the early evening hours.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 23, 1:04 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 1:04 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
204 PM CDT FRI AUG 23 2002

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED TS WILL CONTINUE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT. LOOKS LIKE BEST AREA FOR ORGANIZED STORMS WILL BE OVER THE
NORTHERN AND ESPECIALLY NORTHEAST ZONES WHERE SURFACE WINDS HAVE
BACKED. 80KT 25H JET EXTENDS FROM UTAH WESTWARD TO THE EASTERN
PACIFIC PER LATEST RUC MODEL. 12Z ETA WAS PARTIALLY UNAVAILABLE THIS
MORNING SO WILL RELY MORE ON THE AVN.

STILL LOOKS LIKE WESTERN ZONES WILL TEMPORARILY DRY OUT SATURDAY
AFTERNOON BEFORE NEXT COOL FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE CENTRAL TEXAS
PANHANDLE SATURDAY EVENING. THINKING AT THIS POINT IS THAT SATURDAY
NIGHT HAS THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR ORGANIZED STORMS NEAR THE BOUNDARY
AS THIS FEATURE PUSHES SOUTHWARD. LOOKS LIKE A DRYLINE AND NORTHWEST
MID LEVEL FLOW DEVELOPING.

WILL HOLD ON TO SLIGHT CHANCE POPS SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT WITH
REMNANTS OF COOL FRONT OVER THE AREA. RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN
ROCKIES EXPANDS LATE IN THE WEEKEND WITH NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUING
OVER THE PANHANDLES. ALSO SOME INDICATIONS THE NOCTURNAL LOW LEVEL
JET WILL RETURN TO THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS EARLY NEXT WEEK. MEDIUM
RANGE MODELS SUGGEST ANOTHER COOL FRONT WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

FCSTID = 13

AMARILLO    68 95 64 88 /  20 10 10 00
BEAVER      64 94 64 87 /  40 20 30 20
BOISE CITY  59 89 60 82 /  30 20 20 20
BORGER      68 95 65 89 /  30 10 20 00
BOYS RANCH  65 95 65 88 /  20 10 10 00
CANYON      68 95 64 88 /  20 10 10 00
CLARENDON   68 97 65 90 /  20 10 20 00
DALHART     62 92 61 85 /  20 10 10 00
GUYMON      66 93 65 86 /  40 20 30 20
HEREFORD    66 95 64 88 /  20 10 10 00
LIPSCOMB    65 95 64 88 /  40 20 30 20
PAMPA       66 95 64 88 /  30 10 20 00
SHAMROCK    68 97 65 90 /  30 10 30 00
WELLINGTON  69 98 66 91 /  30 10 20 00

.AMA...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

SLATTERY

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Beaver

When: August 23, 5:19 PM CST
Where: Beaver County, 10 mi E of Elmwood
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.617, -100.333

Hail, Beaver

When: August 23, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Beaver County, 10 mi S of Knowles
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.717, -100.183

Hail, Beaver

When: August 23, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Beaver County, 8 mi W of Slapout
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 36.617, -100.267

Thunderstorm Wind, Beaver

When: August 23, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Beaver County, 8 mi W of Slapout
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 36.617, -100.267

Hail, Beaver

When: August 23, 5:49 PM CST
Where: Beaver County, 7 mi E of Elmwood
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.617, -100.383

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5312674, 5312675, 5312676, 5312677, 5312678.