Washington, 2002

Hail and Damaging Wind in Washington, July 7, 2002

July 7, 2002 · NWS PDT · 4 events in 1 county or zone

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
$20,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 7, 1:35 PM PST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 1:35 PM PST, 4 hours 40 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
235 PM PDT SUN JUL 7 2002

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM HAS MOVED ONSHORE...AND STARTING TO CROSS OVER
TO THE EAST SIDE OF THE CASCADES. CONVECTIVE SHOWERS ARE FORMING
ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES...SOUTH OF MADRAS AND NORTH
OF JOHN DAY EXTENDING INTO THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AS SEEN ON SATELLITE
IMAGERY AND RADAR. THIS SYSTEM IS VERY UNSTABLE AND MOIST...AND THE
SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL LAST THROUGH TONIGHT. SOME OF
THESE THUNDERSTORMS ALSO HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BECOMING SEVERE WITH
HIGH WINDS...HEAVY RAINS AND HAIL. SOME SHOWERS MAY LINGER INTO THE
THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. HOWEVER...DRY AND COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL
FOLLOW TOMORROW AS A RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD INTO THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST ON MONDAY. BY TUESDAY...THE TEMPERATURE WILL START TO WARM
AGAIN. PALMER

EXTENDED...A RIDGE WILL BE OVER THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY PROVIDING
SUNNY SKIES AND INCREASING TEMPERATURES. AS THE RIDGE SHIFTS EAST ON
THURSDAY EVENING AND FRIDAY MOISTURE WILL MIGRATE NORTHWARD IN THE
THE AREA AROUND THE EDGE OF THE RIDGE. THIS MOISTURE AND THE
RECEDING RIDGE WILL INCREASE THE INSTABILITY OVER CENTRAL OREGON...
THE OCHOCOS AND THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. SOME AFTERNOON AND EVENING
THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP. THE REST OF THE AREA WILL REMAIN HOT AND
DRY. BY SATURDAY THE 850 MB TEMPERATURES AND VARIOUS THICKNESS
VALUES WILL DECREASE SLIGHTLY SUGGESTING THAT TEMPERATURES WILL DROP
SLIGHTLY.  COONFIELD

PDT 3200  ALW 3200  PSC 3000  YKM 3000

KPDT...VCP32/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...NONE

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Benton

When
July 7, 6:15 PM PST
Where
Benton County, Kennewick
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.200, -119.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When
July 7, 6:25 PM PST
Where
Benton County, Kennewick
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.200, -119.117

Ham radio operator reported trees blown into cars and homes.

Hail, Benton

When
July 7, 8:20 PM PST
Where
Benton County, Prosser
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.200, -119.767

Hail, Benton

When
July 7, 9:15 PM PST
Where
Benton County, Hanford
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.617, -119.817

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, 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: 5307175, 5307176, 5307178, 5307177.