Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 1, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 1, 2002
Start: 2002-07-01T21:10
End: 2002-07-01T21:25
Location: Tennessee

July 1, 2002 · NWS OHX · 5 events in 1 county or zone

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: 18
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 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 Nashville, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 1, 8:45 AM CST, 12 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 8:45 AM CST, 12 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NASHVILLE TN
945 AM CDT MON JUL 1 2002

MIDDLE TENNESSEE REMAINED UNDER A WEAK AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE
THIS MORNING, WITH TEMPERATURES ALREADY AROUND 80 DEGREES AT
900 AM.

EXPECT VERY SIMILAR WEATHER TO THAT OF YESTERDAY. SO, BLV CU FIELD
WILL DEVELOP SHORTLY AND WILL BE FOLLOWED BY ISOLATED AFTERNOON
THUNDERSTORMS.

WILL UPDATE FORECAST TO TAKE OUT MENTION OF MORNING IN THE FIRST
PERIOD. OTHERWISE, EXPECT TO MAKE LITTLE OR NO CHANGE TO PREVIOUS
ZONE PACKAGE.

.BNA...NONE.

19

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: July 1, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Lawrenceburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.250, -87.333

EMA office reported power lines were down in the city.

Lightning, Lawrence

When: July 1, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, 7 mi E of Lawrenceburg
Injuries: 18 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.217, -87.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning killed 9 cattle when they took shelter under a pecan tree.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: July 1, 9:15 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Lawrenceburg
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.250, -87.333

Spotter reported a front porch on a house was destroyed. A chair was picked up and thrown through a glass window.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: July 1, 9:20 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, 2 mi E of Lawrenceburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.250, -87.300

EMA office reported a large tree was blown down and blocking a roadway.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: July 1, 9:25 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County, 3 mi N of Lawrenceburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 35.300, -87.333

EMA office reported trees were blown down. A farm building was destroyed on Mattox Town Rd.

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.
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

Every storm in Tennessee in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Tennessee, July 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: 5307903, 5307907, 5307906, 5307904, 5307905.