Name: Damaging Wind in Texas, July 16, 2002
Start: 2002-07-16T08:00
End: 2002-07-16T08:00
Location: Texas

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: $1.5 million
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 LCH wrote it up.

High winds associated with a severe thunderstorm blew down numerous trees and power lines. The most significant damage was to the Groves Middle School, where the gymnasium lost part of its roof and one wall.

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 Lake Charles, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 16, 1:24 AM CST, 6 hours 36 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 16, 1:24 AM CST, 6 hours 36 minutes before

SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHEAST TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
224 AM CDT TUE JUL 16 2002

EARLY THIS MORNING...LCH 88-D SHOWING LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND
A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MOVING FROM COASTAL WATERS NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST
TEXAS. ACTIVITY DEVELOPING ALONG DEEP MOISTURE AXIS ASSOCIATED
WITH LINGERING MID/UPPER LEVEL TROFFING FROM SOUTH TEXAS TO CLOSED
LOW OVER MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. WV IMAGERY SHOWING AREA OF STRONG
SUBSIDENCE EDGING WEST ACROSS CENTRAL GULF ASSOCIATED WITH WESTERN
EXTENT OF BERMUDA HIGH APPROACHING REGION.

LOOKS LIKE TODAY WILL BE THE LAST OF ANY SIGNIFICANT RAIN CHANCES
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...AND THIS PRIMARILY OVER THE WESTERN
PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. MODELS IN AGREEMENT RETROGRADING
ACTIVE WEATHER PRODUCING TEXAS TROF AS AFOREMENTIONED GULF HIGH
BUILDS WEST INTO REGION. MONDAY EVENING LCH SOUNDING SHOWING PWAT AT
1.90 INCHES. FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATING A STEADY DECREASE OF
MOISTURE THROUGH THE DAY...DROPPING TO A MORE SEASONABLE NORM OF 1.5
INCHES BY THIS EVENING.

MODELS PROGGED TO HOLD FAIR WEATHER HIGH OVER SE CONUS INTO
GULF WATERS THROUGH THE WEEK AND WILL BE MAIN PLAYER FOR THE
REGION. WILL SEE SEASONABLY HOT DAYS AND WARM NIGHTS WITH PLENTY OF
HUMIDITY AS A PREDOMINANT SOUTHERLY SURFACE FLOW MAINTAINS DEW POINTS
IN THE MID 70S. AS SUCH...WILL SEE THE HEAT INDEX APPROACHING 105
DURING MAX HEATING. HAVE OPTED TO REMOVE ANY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH EXTENT OF DRIER AIR AND
SUBSIDENCE MOVING IN.

.LCH...NONE.

.UPDATED NUMBERS...
BPT 86/75 91/75 92/75 600000
LCH 87/74 91/74 92/75 400000
LFT 89/74 92/74 93/75 200000
AEX 87/73 92/74 93/74 400000

MARCOTTE

The radar

The Lake Charles radar (KLCH), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: July 16, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Groves
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $1.5 million
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 29.950, -93.917

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, 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: 5312312.