14 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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 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 Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 18, 11:34 AM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED FOR AVIATION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 1234 PM CDT FRI OCT 18 2002 .AVIATION... SURFACE WINDS ARE INCREASING AS VERTICAL MIXING BRINGS DOWN SOME OF THE STRONGER MOMENTUM JUST ABOVE THER SURFACE. PROGRESSIVE UPPER LOW CONTINUES MOVING EAST WITH HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING OVER METROPLEX AT THIS TIME. RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD THE KACT AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. RAINFALL TOTALS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES AREAWIDE ARE LIKELY BY NOON SATURDAY. AS THE UPPER LOW KICKS OUT...RAIN WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST DURING MORNING SATURDAY WITH IMPROVING CEILINGS BY AFTERNOON. /FORECASTER ROBBINS=34 .PUBLIC... HAVE UPDATED TO LOWER TEMPS THIS AFTERNOON AS EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER IS INCREASING...ALONG WITH AREAL COVERAGE OF RAIN. IN ADDITION... UPPED POPS IN THE WEST FOR CURRENT ACTIVITY. ADDED MENTION OF HEAVY RAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND ADJUSTED WORDING SATURDAY TO END MAIN PRECIP BY MIDDAY. UPPER LOW APPEARS TO BE FASTER THAN MODELS PROGGED...AND WITH DRY SLOT MOVING INTO REGION SATURDAY...EXPECT MAIN AREA OF RAIN TO MOVE INTO THE EASTERN PORTIONS BY AFTERNOON. THEN...ONLY RESIDUAL RAIN EXPECTED SATURDAY NIGHT WITH WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AS FRONT MOVES THROUGH. WHILE RAINS MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY MORNING...EXPECT ONLY ISOLATED URBAN PROBLEMS...AND IN AREAS WHERE THERE ARE TYPICAL PROBLEMS...WITH MAIN THREAT OVER BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. .FWD...NONE. 42
TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-191545- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 951 AM CDT FRI OCT 18 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE... RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL TOTAL ONE TO TWO INCHES BY NOON SATURDAY WITH SOME ISOLATED THREE INCH AMOUNTS IN THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS. LOCALIZED FLOODING OF STREETS AND CREEKS MAY OCCUR... HOWEVER NO WIDESPREAD FLOODING PROBLEMS ARE ANTICIPATED. ALTHOUGH IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ONE OR TWO OF THE THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT...THE PRIMARY HAZARD FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... LIMITED SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SOUTH AND WEST OF A CISCO...DALLAS...CENTERVILLE LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE MORNING HOURS SATURDAY AND NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED BEYOND THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. && FORECASTER ROBBINS=34
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Water over Highways 183 and 246 south of Cisco near the Sabana River.
West Commerce street in Eastland barricaded due to high water.
Many county roads, especially in the south part of the county, had substantial flash flood damage.
Intersection of Old Decatur Road and Highway 287 under water.
Duck Creek in Garland covering several roads.
Several roads off FM 920 near Peaster covered with two feet of water.
Flooding was reported at interchanges and on ramps along Interstate 20, Northwest Highway, and Woodall Rogers.
High water rescues were reported on Highway 69 north of Greenville, and on Highway 66 and FM 36,between Royse City and Caddo Mills.
Highway 66 and FM 35 flooded.
Highway 5 between Melissa and Anna impassable, Highway 121 near Melissa impassable, and Highway 380 at Highway 78 underpass flooded. Numerous other county and farm to market roads flooded.
Some creeks flooding FM 905 and the Southeast Loop around Paris.
On the north side of Corsicana, thunderstorm winds blew down some trees and fences, and also blew the brick off the sides of 3 or 4 apartment buildings, damaging nearby cars.
Flooding in the southeast part of Paris.
County roads flooded southwest of Cooper.
Downburst left a path approximately 300 feet wide from northwest to southeast. Numerous businesses unroofed with doors and windows blown out. there were also numerous signs and trees blown down.
Highways 19, 2653 north of Brashear closed due to high water. Highway 11 west of Sulphur Springs closed due to high water.
Heavy rain partially collapsed the roof of the Sir Loin Steakhouse.
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, October 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: 5318626, 5318627, 5322943, 5318628, 5318787, 5318788, 5318789, 5318790, 5318791, 5318792, 5318793, 5318798, 5318794, 5318795, 5318796, 5318797, 5318799.