Hail in Oklahoma, October 22, 2002

Name: Hail in Oklahoma, October 22, 2002
Start: 2002-10-22T20:48
End: 2002-10-22T20:50
Location: Oklahoma

October 22, 2002 · NWS AMA · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Severe thunderstorms over the western Oklahoma panhandle produced some large hail during the 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: 2

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 over the western Oklahoma panhandle produced some large hail during the 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 Oct 22, 2:13 PM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 22, 2:13 PM CST, 6 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
315 PM CDT TUE 22 OCT 2002

SUBSTANTIAL MSTR IN PLACE ACRS PNHDLS...WITH SFC DWPTS MAINLY IN
50S...WITH LOWER 60S IN SERN ZNS.  H8 DWPTS OF 8 TO 11 DEG C
NOTED.  SFC LOW IN SERN NM WITH INVERTED TROF EXTDG NNEWD THRU WRN
ZNS.  SFC TROF EXPCD TO BCM ACTIVE THIS EVE AS HIGHLY ENERGIZED
SWLY FLOW ALF PVLS...AND LLJ DVLPS OVR ERN HALF OF FCST AREA.

CDFNT OVR SRN KS AND SERN CO EXPCD TO MOV INTO OK PNHDL AFT
MIDNIGHT...AND THEN CLR TX PNHDL BY NOON WED.  LESS THAN 5 DEG F OF
WMG CAN BE EXPCD IN NRN ZNS DURG DAY...AND SRN ZNS WL EXPERIENCE ERY
HIGHS WITH TEMPS FALLING DURG AFTN AS CAA CONTS.  STG CNVGNC ALG
CDFNT AND LIFT ALG SLOPING FRONTAL SFC EXPCD TO PRODUCE WSPRD SHRA
ON WED.

ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE DVLPS ON WED NGT AS COLD SFC RDG BUILDS SWD THRU
PNHDLS.  WDSPRD -RA EXPCD...WITH PSBLTY OF SLEET MIXING IN OVR OK
PNHDL DUE TO COLD AIR INTRUSION.  UPSLP FLOW DMSHS ON THU NGT...YET
ONGOING PARADE OF SHTWVS IN SWLY FLOW ALF WARRANT CHC POPS FOR -RA.

DRIER AIR IS TAPPED FRI THRU SAT NGT...WITH TEMPS MAKING RECOVERY
TO 50S AND 60S FRI THRU SUN.  NEXT H5 TROF DIGS OVR SWRN U.S. SUN
WITH SLGT CHC OR CHC TSTMS SUN THRU MON NGT.

FCSTID = 03

AMARILLO    54 56 36 45 / 70 80 80 40
BEAVER      41 44 34 38 / 80 90 90 50
BOISE CITY  40 43 32 39 / 70 70 70 40
BORGER      53 54 36 43 / 70 80 80 40
BOYS RANCH  52 53 34 44 / 60 70 70 40
CANYON      55 57 36 46 / 60 70 80 40
CLARENDON   57 60 39 48 / 70 90 80 40
DALHART     47 49 33 44 / 60 70 70 40
GUYMON      41 44 33 39 / 80 90 80 40
HEREFORD    54 59 36 47 / 60 70 70 40
LIPSCOMB    50 51 37 39 / 80 90 90 50
SHAMROCK    57 59 40 48 / 70 90 90 40
WELLINGTON  58 62 42 50 / 70 90 90 40

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

COCKRELL

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 22, 1:53 PM CST, 6 hours 55 minutes before

OKZ001>003-TXZ001>020-231100-

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
100 PM CDT TUE OCT 22 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLES.

.DAY ONE...

SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE
PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...FOLLOWED BY A
SECONDARY THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

A STRONG POLAR COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE PANHANDLES EARLY
WEDNESDAY WITH THE CHANCE FOR WINTER PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

JH

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 156 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Cimarron

When: October 22, 8:48 PM CST
Where: Cimarron County, Griggs
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 36.600, -102.117

Hail, Cimarron

When: October 22, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Cimarron County, 3 mi SE of Griggs
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 36.567, -102.083

The hail covered the ground three to four inches deep.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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, October 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: 5323509, 5323510.