7 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 7, 9:58 AM EST, 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 1058 AM EDT TUE MAY 7 2002 SW TO CONTINUE TO MOVE NE THIS AFTERNOON AND TAKE MUCH OF THE PRECIP WITH IT. TRAILING LINE OF TSTMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. ONE CONCERN IS DEVELOPMENT OF TSTMS IN CNTL KY ATTM. RIGHT NOW AIRMASS RATHER SOUPY AND THESE COULD PRODUCE VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS. WILL EXPAND CURRENT FFA TO EXTEND THE AREA FOR THE SOUTHERN 2/3S OF THE HSA. TREND FOR SHWRS AND TSTMS TO CONTINUE OVER THIS REGION THIS AFTERNOON. THE NEXT FEATURE TO MOVE INTO THE AREA BY 12Z WED. TEMPS LOOK GOOD IN SHORT TERM. EXTENDED... CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES WEDNESDAY AS WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH. COLD FRONT THEN ARRIVES ON THURSDAY...PUSHING THROUGH LATE IN THE DAY. ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND FOCUSING MECHANISMS DURING THIS TIME PERIOD LEND TO POSSIBILITY FOR FLOODING PROBLEMS. A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM THEN BUILDS IN FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL BRING CHANCES OF MORE PRECIPITATION LATE IN THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK WEEK. .RLX... WV...FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES WVZ005>008...WVZ013>018...WVZ024>029...WVZ033>038...WVZ046>047. VA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES VAZ003>004. KY...FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES KYZ101>103...KYZ105. OH...FLOOD WATCH FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES OHZ083>087. .END/JS/AR
OHZ066-067-075-076-083>086-WVZ007>011-016>020-028>032-039-040-071600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 900 AM EDT TUE MAY 7 2002 ...HEAVY RAINS MOVING ACROSS SOUTHEAST OHIO AND NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA... AN EAST TO WEST BAND OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. SOME OF THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE DROPPING UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN AN HOUR...WITH A FEW SPOTS BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES AN HOUR. THIS ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING. STREAMS AND CREEKS ARE ON THE RISE FROM THESE RAINS. EXPECT LOW LYING AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO PONDING OR NUISANCE FLOODING TO EXPERIENCE MINOR WATER PROBLEMS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING. PERSONS IN MEIGS COUNTY OF OHIO AND NORTHERN ROANE COUNTY OF WEST VIRGINIA SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY ALERT. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES THROUGH THE DAY FOR JACKSON AND GALLIA COUNTIES IN OHIO AND FOR MASON COUNTY IN WEST VIRIGINA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Small streams flooded and closed roads. Water surrounded some homes near Spencer. Spencer reported 1.9 inches of rain.
Small streams and runs flooded and closed roads. No dwellings were affected.
Steer Creek flooded roads.
Water flowed across Route 28 from overflowing streams and runs. Bartow reported 2.3 inches of rain.
Small streams flooded and closed roads. Hacker Valley had 2.4 inches of rain. Wester Springs measured 3.1 inches of rain. Campers were stranded along Williams River. Roads were closed by mudslides and debris.
Basement flooding was reported from overflowing small streams.
Numerous road closures due to small stream flooding. Birch River measured 2.9 inches of rain. Earlier in the day, around 1430E, a 20 year old woman and her 1 year old child drowned, after their vehicle drove off the road and into the Birch River. The road was not flooded, but the river was swollen to well above normal levels.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, May 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: 5291057, 5291058, 5291059, 5291060, 5291061, 5291062, 5291063.