Name: Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 28, 2002
Start: 2002-05-28T14:30
End: 2002-05-28T15:30
Location: Pennsylvania

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: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 Binghamton, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 28, 12:45 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 28, 12:45 PM EST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BINGHAMTON NY
145 PM EDT TUE MAY 28 2002

BUSY MRNG AS SLOW MVG TRWS HAVE CAUSED ISLTD FLOODING PRBLMS AND
EVEN SVR. ETA/META SHOWS THE DISCREET LOW LVL BNDRY MVG ONLY SLOWLY
OVRNGT INTO WED AND FOCUSING CONT CONV OVER MANY OF THE SAME AREAS.
WEAK SHRT WV/S RIPPLING ALONG IN THE FLOW WILL SET OFF ENHANCED CONV
FEEDING ON THE JUICY AIR. CNCRN OVRNGT IS IN NE PA AND ERN SRN TIER
INTO THE WRN CATS. WITH THESE ZONES HAVING SOME VERY HARD HIT AREAS
TODAY AND LAST NGT...BELIEVE A FLOOD WATCH IS IN ORDER IN THOSE
ZONES.

TMRW...BNDRY OVR NY WASHES OUT WHILE A WEAK SHRT WV AND SFC LOW
ENHANCES THE LOW LVL CONV OVER THE PA ZONES...LTR...HTG AND SLY FLOW
WILL PRBLY BRING SCT TRWS OVER THE ENTIRE FCST AREA.

WED NGT BRINGS ANOTHER SHRT WV WHICH ENHANCES THE UVM AND TRIGGER
MORE TRWS...ESP OVER THE NY ZONES AS RDGG TAKES PLACE OVER NE PA.

ON THU...THERE DSN/T SEEM TO BE A PARTICULAR TRIGGER...JUST
WIDESPREAD INSTABILITY ENUF TO TRIGGER SCT TRWS.

.BGM...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT
NYZ045-046-055>057-062-PA038>040-043-044-047-048

MORFORD

The radar

The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Lackawanna

When: May 28, 2:30 PM EST to 3:30 PM EST
Where: Lackawanna County, Thornhurst
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.437, -75.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy thunderstorm rains caused flash flooding in the towns of Thornhurst and Clifton. Three roads were closed due to culvert washouts and one bridge was damaged by the flood waters. One small private dam (2 acre pond fed by Pond Creek) failed and is no longer there. One private residence had water on the first floor and 2-3 apartment buildings had water damage. Many basements were pumped out. Thornhurst fire and ambulance crews evacuated up to 40 residents from their homes. Sand Swamp Run also escaped its banks to cross a road.

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5299514.