Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 2, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 2, 2002
Start: 2002-07-02T18:20
End: 2002-07-02T18:20
Location: Tennessee

July 2, 2002 · NWS MRX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A 17 year old female received shock from lightning strike while leaning against a metal camping trailer.

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.

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Wind
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Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
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 happened

The episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.

A 17 year old female received shock from lightning strike while leaning against a metal camping trailer.

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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 2, 2:45 PM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:45 PM EST, 3 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
345 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

AREA RADARS APPEAR SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY AT THIS TIME. 48-60 HR FCST
OFFERS MORE OF THE SAME AS UPR RIDGE REMAINS GENERALLY IN SAME
LOCATION ACROSS THE MIDWEST. THE RIDGE DOES SLIDE A BIT SE TWD THE
FA ON THU SO MAY BE A DEGREE WARMER MOST SPOTS. FLO REMAINS NE-E
THRU PD AND MODELS CONTINUE TO HINT AT WEAK VORTS DROPPING SW
ACROSS REGION IN THIS FLO REGIME. INSTABILITY STILL IMPRESSIVE
ALTHOUGH MAY DECREASE SLIGHTLY ON THU AS UPR RIDGE BUILDS CLOSER.
NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO TWEAK POPS DOWN THOUGH ON THE 4TH. MAIN
QUESTION THIS FCST IS WILL CD FNT BUILD S CLOSE TO ENOUGH TO BRING
SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN POP TO NRN PORTION OF FA LATER THU INTO THU
NITE. DONT BELIEVE WEAK FNT WILL BE ABLE TO MOV CLOSER TO FA UNTIL
FRI AND WILL ARRANGE FCST IN THIS MANNER. WILL INCREASE POP
SLIGHTLY ACROSS SW VA/NE TN ON THU/THU NITE TO INDICATE POSSIBLILTY
OF SOME GREATER COVERAGE OF TSRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH PRE-FRONTAL
TROF. ADDED POPS TO FRI FCST TO ALLOW FOR THIS BOUNDARY AND
ASSOCIATED LIFT.

CHA   72  94  72  94 /  30  30  20  30
TYS   72  92  71  93 /  30  30  20  30
TRI   66  90  65  91 /  40  30  20  40
OQT   72  92  71  93 /  30  30  20  30

.MRX...
NC...NONE.
TN...NONE.
VA...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 2, 1:38 PM EST, 4 hours 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
238 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

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

0235 PM    2 E MT CARMEL             TN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   HAWKINS                        REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

0235 PM    1 W KINGSPORT             TN   .75 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   SULLIVAN                       REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

DAE

Local storm report, Jul 2, 3:34 PM EST, 2 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
434 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

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

0240 PM    GATE CITY                 VA   .75 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   SCOTT                          REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

DAE

Local storm report, Jul 2, 4:09 PM EST, 2 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
509 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

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

0500 PM    COUNTYWIDE                VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/02/02   WASHINGTON                     TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          DISPATCH.

0500 PM    ABINGDON                  VA   .75 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   WASHINGTON                     REPORTED BY DISPATCH.

0505 PM    1 E LEBANON               VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   RUSSELL                        REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

DAE

Local storm report, Jul 2, 5:10 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
610 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

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

0550 PM    NEAR DANTE                VA   WIND DAMAGE
07/02/02   RUSSELL                        NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS
                                          THE COUNTY. REPORTED BY
                                          DISPATCH. DIME SIZE HAIL
                                          ALSO REPORTED BETWEEN DANTE
                                          AND ST. PAUL.

0555 PM    COEBURN                   VA   1.00 INCH HAIL
07/02/02   WISE                           QUARTER SIZE HAIL AT
                                          COEBURN. REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

GRC

Local storm report, Jul 2, 6:17 PM EST, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN, TN
717 PM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

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

0655 PM    RUTLEDGE                  TN   WIND DAMAGE
07/02/02   GRAINGER                       TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

DAE

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Jefferson

When: July 2, 6:20 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Douglas Lake North
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.051, -83.446 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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: 5308904.