Hurricane Lili
One of the tropical cyclone disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.9 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.1 billion at the time) and 2 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 64 most significant tropical cyclone episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $1.9 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.1 billion
- Deaths
- 2
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 36 | 0 | 3 | $2.5 million |
| Michigan | 78 | 0 | 1 | $789,000 |
| Texas | 13 | 1 | 0 | $585,000 |
| Colorado | 26 | 0 | 2 | $574,000 |
| Georgia | 27 | 0 | 0 | $542,000 |
| Minnesota | 35 | 0 | 0 | $240,000 |
| Louisiana | 13 | 0 | 0 | $150,000 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 0 | 0 | $134,000 |
| New Mexico | 12 | 0 | 0 | $125,000 |
| Arizona | 6 | 0 | 0 | $80,000 |
| Florida | 4 | 0 | 0 | $40,000 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 1 | $25,000 |
| North Dakota | 29 | 0 | 0 | $3,000 |
| West Virginia | 34 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ohio | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Montana | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nevada | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kentucky | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Jersey | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| South Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Flood in New Mexico, July 30, 2002Runoff from a thunderstorm over the Franklin Mountains caused an arroyo to fill to a depth of 10 feet. The frontage roads near the arroyo were covered with water, and extensive ponding resulted downstream.
- Flash Flood in Missouri, July 31, 2002Major flash flooding of creeks occurred in southwest Ripley County. In Gatewood, water from the West Fork Creek forced the evacuation of a residence and flooded Highway 142. A vehicle was swept into the creek, and both occupants were rescued.
- Flood and Hail in Georgia, July 31, 2002The public reported dime size hail.
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 31, 2002Heavy rain caused the closure of numerous roads in and around Jacksonville. Several cars were flooded.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, July 31, 2002A tornado touched down in open country.
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, August 1 to 31, 2002Frontal systems remained mostly to the north, leaving only disorganized and widely scattered convection during the month. The heat wave from the 1st through the 5th dried out the ground. Hamlin, downtown Huntington, and downtown Parkersburg all reached 99 degrees on the 4th.
- Heavy Rain in Ohio, August 1 to 31, 2002Frequent afternoon temperatures in the 90s and lots of sunshine, saw vegetation and top soil quickly dry out during the month. South Point registered 98 degrees on both the 2nd and the 3rd.
- Heavy Rain in Kentucky, August 1 to 31, 2002Consistently high temperatures and abundant sunshine dried out the top soil. Preliminary data indicates that Ashland reached 101 degrees on the 4th and 100 degrees on the 5th. Most frontal systems remained to the north, leaving only widely scattered convection.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Michigan, August 1, 2002Widespread severe thunderstorms struck Upper Michigan on August 1st as a strong surface low pressure center moved northeast into Ontario and its attendant warm and cold fronts interacted with a warm, moist and unstable airmass over the northwest Great Lakes.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, August 1, 2002Four waves of severe thunderstorms impacted northern Michigan during the morning, afternoon, and evening hours on the 1st. The first wave of severe thunderstorms struck the area during the early morning hours, initially knocking trees down in Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, August 1, 2002Thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall moved over much of the county, resulting in the flooding of streets and homes in the Richland and Brandon areas.
- Heavy Rain in Nevada, August 1, 2002A line of slow-moving thunderstorms moved across Douglas Co., NV during the afternoon hours. The storms dropped .60 inches of rain in 45 minutes and a total of 1 inch of rain over an 85-minute period in Gardnerville, NV. Small hail was also reported with these storms.
- Flood in Florida, August 1, 2002Signficant street and highway flooding.
- Flood in Florida, August 1, 2002Significant street flooding. 2.47 inches of rain in 40 minutes.
- Tornado and Hail in Nevada, August 1, 2002Severe thunderstorms moving through the region dropped 3/4 hail over northwest Reno between 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm PDT. This hail accumulated to a depth of half an inch.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, August 1, 2002An active severe weather episode unfolded across the central and western Permian Basin...and southeast New Mexico during the evening of the 1st. Several damaging microbursts affected the area. Flash flooding along with intense and damaging lightnin, accompanied the storms.
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, August 1 to 2, 2002A F1 tornado struck Tustin (Osceola county) during the late evening hours of the first of August. The maximum winds were estimated to have peaked at the 100 to 110 m.p.h. range... ranking the tornado as a F1 on the Fujita scale.
- Tornado in Michigan, August 1, 2002A very weak F0 tornado briefly touched down in Elise Township, 9 miles east of Grant, in Newaygo county during the late evening hours. It blew down one tree, but caused no other damage. There were no injuries or fatalities.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, August 1, 2002Severe thunderstorms which impacted the western Permian Basin in Texas during the evening of the 1st...moved west into Lea County New Mexico. Damaging winds and significant flash flooding resulted.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in New Mexico, August 2, 2002Heavy rains continued through the overnight/early morning hours until midday. Very heavy amounts of rainfall were observed by both COOP observers and indicated by 88D precipitation products. A swath of ten to twelve inch rainfall totals was observed across Lea County.
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 2, 2002Heavy overnight rainfall resulted in flash flooding in parts of Reeves County. The DPS reported up to 8 inches of water covering numerous intersections in the city of Pecos.
- Tornadoes in Colorado, August 2, 2002A small, weak, short-lived tornado caused no known damage.
- Tornado in Florida, August 2, 2002Several mobile homes suffered minor damage to awnings and antennae.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Texas, August 2, 2002A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms moved into central and downtown El Paso from the south, dropping 1.5 to 2 inches of rain at the rate of an inch in 10 minutes on the southern spine of the Franklin Mountains.
- Flash Flood in Arizona, August 2, 2002Another round of thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall over the town of Arivaca. A spotter reported 3 inches of rain, with water flooding into his house at 410 pm MST. An automated gauge in the area recorded 2.09 inches of rainfall between 330 pm and 430 pm MST.
- Tornado in New Mexico, August 2, 2002A small tornado, most likely a landspout, was observed on the ground for 9 minutes south of U.S. 70 and northeast of the White Sands Missile Range Headquarters.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Nevada, August 2, 2002With monsoonal flow and ample moisture left over from the previous day's storms, several clusters of thunderstorms formed over the region.
- Flood in New Jersey, August 2, 2002The thunderstorms produced heavy rain and caused some poor drainage flooding in Middlesex County, particularly the northeast part of the county. Flooding was reported along the Amtrak tracks in Metuchen. Street flooding was also reported in Milltown Borough.
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 2, 2002In addition to the damaging winds, a Doppler Radar Storm Total estimate of between two and four inches fell across the northeast portion of the county, most within one hour. This caused poor drainage flooding and stream flooding in the area.
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 3, 2002Heavy rains during the late night flooded numerous lower wather crossings and washed out several culverts in northern Socorro County.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Virginia, August 3, 2002Numerous thunderstorms with high winds, large hail, frequent lightning, and heavy downpours moved through the region between 2 and 8 PM EDT. In Nelson County, trees were downed in Arrington and Piedmont. Flood waters covered Route 56 in Shipman.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 3, 2002Flooding and mudslides occurred in several drainages along County Road 501, on the west side of Vallecito Reservoir, and in the Vallecito community.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 3, 2002Trees down, minor structural damage.
- Flash Flood in Arizona, August 3, 2002A stationary thunderstorm produced heavy rainfall near the town of Guthrie. A spotter reported Highway 78 flooded. Other reports of precipitation from the event ranged from 1.0 to 1.5 inches of rainfall.
- Flash Flooding in Minnesota, August 3, 2002Four to six inches of rain fell within a few hours. One county road washed out. Numerous roads and intersections were impassable. 150 basements flooded with up to three feet of water. Portions of the Glencoe High School had one foot of water flowing through it.
- Flash Flood in Wisconsin, August 3, 2002Three to five inches of rain fell within a few hours, leading to numerous flooded streets and intersections. Several basements were flooded, and a driveway and two township roads were washed out. Several other roads had significant shoulder damage.
- Flash Flood in Arizona, August 4, 2002Thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall near the Rincon Mountains. Tanque Verde Guest Ranch recorded 1.93 inches of rainfall during the event. A spotter reported flooding along Old Spanish Trail Road between Saguaro and Vail at 400 pm MST.
- Tropical Storm in Louisiana, August 4 to 5, 2002Tropical Storm Bertha developed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on August 04, 2002 and moved inland over southeast Louisiana during the early morning of August 05, 2002.
- Tropical Storm in Mississippi, August 4 to 5, 2002Tropical Storm Bertha developed over the north central Gulf of Mexico on August 04, 2002 and moved inland over southeast Louisiana during the early morning of August 05, 2002.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Colorado, August 4 to 5, 2002Heavy rainfall caused flooding and flash flooding problems in and around Holyoke. In the town of Holyoke, the intersections of State Highways 385 and 6 were under water. Floodwaters also inundated highway 385, 8 miles north of Holyoke.
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, August 5, 2002Heavy rainfall of 3 to 4 inches within a couple of hours developed as Tropical Storm Bertha was moving onshore, resulting in flash flooding in extreme southeast St. Tammany Parish.
- Flash Flood in Mississippi, August 5, 2002Heavy rainfall of 5 to 7 inches resulted in flooding, primarily in Moss Point. Flood waters entered 15 to 20 houses, several autos were flooded, and widespread flooding of streets and roadways occurred.
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 5, 2002Heavy thunderstorm rains caused Flash Flooding in Bedford County. Roads were closed in the town of Hyndman, and remained impassible for about an hour until flood waters receded.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Colorado, August 5, 2002A mail carrier was struck by lightning as he inserted a key into a multi-unit mailbox. The shock knocked the man back against his transport truck, he suffered minor injuries.
- Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Mudslides covered a section of Interstate 70, while another section of the road had 6 inches of standing water on it after the flood waters subsided.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Four residences in Rifle were damaged from flood waters running through them.
- Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Heavy rains resulted in rockslides and debris flows which covered Highway 141 on Nine Mile Hill. A car was forced off the road avoiding the slide and another slide hit a sheriff's car.
- Flash Flood in Mississippi, August 5, 2002Heavy rainfall, associated with a thunderstorm, washed out East Reservoir Road. Water was also reported across several other roads in the county.
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 5, 2002Heavy thunderstorms moved across Bedford County, causing flash flooding. The town of Hyndman was hard hit, having already experienced heavy rains and flash flooding earlier this same afternoon. Roads were closed and remained impassible for several hours.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 5, 2002A merger of two storms created a severe thunderstorm producing heavy rainfall across Tucson as it moved northwest at 10 mph. This storm not only produced damaging winds but also was one of the largest flash flooding events during the monsoon season.
- Tornado in Montana, August 5, 2002A multi vortex tornado was spotted over rural areas of northern Judith Basin County. No damage was reported.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Montana, August 5, 2002Street flooding and small stream flooding
- Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Water and debris flowed across Highway 141 resulting in an automobile accident.
- Tornado in Montana, August 5, 2002A tornado was spotted over rural areas in Northwest Fergus County, about 10 miles southwest of Winifred. No damage was reported.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Flash flooding occurred in the Mitchell Creek drainage area where the Coal Seam fire burned earlier in the summer.
- Tornado and Hail in Montana, August 5, 2002Spotter reported a tornado touched the ground briefly 13 miles south of Landusky.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 5, 2002Mudslides occurred in an area burned during the Coal Seam fire earlier in the summer. A section of Devereux Road was covered by the mudslides. A freight train was halted due to 4 to 5 feet of mud over the tracks which was deposited by a flash flood.
- Flash Flood in Illinois, August 5 to 6, 2002Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time in an area around Bluff Springs. Numerous farm fields were flooded as well as a couple of rural roads. A couple of small levees were breached, allowing water to flood the farm fields.
- Flash Flood in South Dakota, August 6, 2002Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous streets.
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, August 6, 2002The remnant circulation of Tropical Storm Bertha continued to affect southeast Louisiana with several bands of heavy rainfall. Between 5 to 8 inches of rain occurred in northern St.
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, August 6, 2002The remnant circulation from Tropical Storm Bertha continued to affect southeast Louisiana with a few areas of intense rainfall.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 6, 2002Flash flood waters traversed County Road 4.2 in several places, generally 6 to 8 feet deep. At one location, the water was 9 feet deep across the road. The road was washed out at a number of locations and stranded some ranchers.
- Tornado in Florida, August 6, 2002A tornado damaged a car port.
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 6, 2002Flash flood waters up to two feet deep crossed over Highway 65 at the junction with Highway 330.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2002The 2002 hurricane seasonTornadoes in 2002
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.