Scattered severe thunderstorms developed over the Big Country and Concho Valley in the late afternoon and early evening on the 28th. These thunderstorms produced winds to 70 mph and hail up to golfball size.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS SJT wrote it up.
Scattered severe thunderstorms developed over the Big Country and Concho Valley in the late afternoon and early evening on the 28th. These thunderstorms produced winds to 70 mph and hail up to golfball size. The hardest hit areas were just to the west of Abilene and to the southeast of San Angelo.
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 San Angelo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 28, 12:45 PM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL TEXAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 145 PM CDT SUN JUL 28 2002 ...FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THROUGH TUESDAY... .CURRENT...LATEST RADAR TRENDS INDICATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AS SHORT WAVE BEGINS TO WORK ITS WAY INTO THE AREA. MOISTURE IS STILL HERE WITH DEWPOINTS AT 1 PM REMAINING IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S WITH WELL MIXED ATMOSPHERE. .SHORT TERM...SHORT WAVE TROUGH WORKS INTO THE AREA. THUS EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY FORM TO INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS MAY DISSIPATE SOME AFTER SUNSET...HOWEVER WITH THE LOW LEVEL JET IN PLACE AGAIN TONIGHT CANT RULE OUT THUNDERSTORMS SURVIVING THROUGH THE NIGHT. THINK THE BEST COVERAGE OF SCATTERED VARIETY WILL BE FROM THE CONCHO VALLEY NORTHWARD INTO THE BIG COUNTRY. WITH ISOLATED COVERAGE AT BEST ELSEWHERE. THE WINDS HAVE BEEN RATHER BREEZY ACROSS THE AREA TODAY AND EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS...THUS WILL ADD CAUTION ON AREA LAKES TO THE ZONES. .MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...AS THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH PASSES BY THE SOUTHERN END IS FORECAST TO GET LEFT BEHIND...THUS LEAVING A WEAKNESS IN THE RIDGE THROUGH TUESDAY. PLAN ON LEAVING SCATTERED POPS ACROSS THE NORTH TAPERING TO ISOLATED BY TUESDAY. ACROSS THE SOUTH...CURRENT ISOLATED MENTION LOOKS TO BE GOOD AND WILL KEEP. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A LITTLE COOLER DUE TO THE CLOUDS AND SOME PRECIP AROUND. .WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...LOOKS LIKE THE RIDGE WILL TAKE OVER ON WEDNESDAY...THUS WILL PULL THE CURRENT SLIGHT CHANCE IN FORECAST. HOWEVER THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...THE RIDGE GRADUALLY BUILDS INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS LEAVING WEST CENTRAL TEXAS ON THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF THIS FEATURE AND GIVING US HOPE FOR AN EASTERLY WAVE. MODELS ALSO INDICATE A FAIRLY WEAK CAP STRENGTH WITH 700MB TEMPERATURES ONLY RUNNING 8C OR BELOW THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. WITH ALL THAT SAID WILL NOT PUT RAIN CHANCES IN JUST YET THAT FAR OUT...BUT MAY HAVE TO IN LATER FORECASTS. ABI 075/093/073/093 3332 SJT 076/094/072/094 3332 JCT 075/093/073/093 2222 .SJT...CAUTION ON AREA LAKES THIS EVENING. 27/BRAZZELL
TXZ049-054-064>066-071>073-076>078-098-099-113-114-127-128-139-140- 154-155-168>170-282300- WEST CENTRAL TEXAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN ANGELO TX 221 PM CDT SUN JUL 28 2002 ...ISOLATED NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TONIGHT... WARM TEMPERATURES IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL SUPPRESS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER MOST OF WEST CENTRAL TEXAS TONIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED NEAR AN UPPER DISTURBANCE....NEAR THE WESTERN CONCHO VALLEY AND WESTERN BIG COUNTRY. INSTABILITY SHOULD BE INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT SUSTAINED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE SEE STATEMENTS AND OUTLOOKS FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES ACROSS TEXAS...OKLAHOMA...AND NEW MEXICO. 14
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
High winds downed several trees and power lines around Hamlin.
High winds downed several trees near Hawley.
Significant street flooding reported on the north and east sides of San Angelo.
Golfball size hail was reported during a thunderstorm at Merkel.
Several power lines were downed for about a four mile stretch. There was also some awning damage to a convenience store.
A barn was destroyed due to high winds near Tye.
Golfball size hail reported at Tye.
Several power lines were downed due to high winds at Lawn.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, July 2002
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: 5307110, 5307113, 5307111, 5307112, 5307116, 5307117, 5307187, 5307114, 5307188, 5307186, 5307115, 5307118, 5307119.