Tornadoes of 2002

This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2002, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally. The year had several large outbreaks that included the Veterans Day Weekend tornado outbreak and the Midwest to Mid-Atlantic United States tornado outbreak.

Tornadoes of 2002
Track Paths of the Tornado Outbreak of November 2002
TimespanJanuary 2 – December 30, 2002
Maximum rated tornadoF4 tornado
  • 5 locations
    on 5 different days
Tornadoes in U.S.934[1]
Damage (U.S.)$802.053 million[2]
Fatalities (U.S.)55[3]
Fatalities (worldwide)>55

Synopsis

The Tornado Season of 2002 was a below average season with only 934 tornadoes touching down, However, this season had its two largest outbreaks occurring early in the year and late in the year because of cold fronts being able to create favorable conditions for tornadic activity in the United States.

Events
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
0 623 215 65 26 5 0 934

January

There were three tornadoes confirmed in the US in January.

February

There were two tornadoes confirmed in the US in February.

March

There were 47 tornadoes confirmed in the US in March.

March 24

A rare 30 yard wide F0 tornado formed in Hawaii at 6:55 PM, doing $60,000 in damage.

April

There were 117 tornadoes confirmed in the US in April.

April 27–28
Main article: Tornado outbreak of April 27–28, 2002
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 11 18 12 6 1 0

This fairly large tornado outbreak killed 7 people and inflicted ≥$224 million (2002 USD) of damage to the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. It caused some hail damage to crops and houses as well.

May

There were 204 tornadoes confirmed in the US in May.

May 5

34 tornadoes touchdown in US, including 19 in Texas. Three tornadoes were rated F2, including a dust filled wedge tornado that struck Happy, Texas and a killer tornado.[4]

May 7

21 tornadoes were reported, including 17 in Kansas, with three of the tornadoes reached F3 intensity. A long-tracked F2 tornado also prompted a tornado emergency in Pratt, Kansas, but there were no fatalities.[5][6]

May 20 (Hong Kong)

A weak tornado struck Hong Kong International Airport.[7]

June

There were 97 tornadoes confirmed in the US in June.

June 23

An F4 tornado occurred four miles east of Barnard, South Dakota.

July

There were 68 tornadoes confirmed in the US in July.

August

There were 86 tornadoes confirmed in the US in August.

September

There were 61 tornadoes confirmed in the US in September.

September 2

At approximately 4:20 PM CDT, an F3 tornado tore through the town of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, causing $25 million in damage. 27 people were injured but nobody was killed. The twister had a path of 16 miles, and was one of six to touchdown in Wisconsin that day.

September 20

An F3 tornado in Indiana became one of the longest tracked tornadoes in the state's history after it formed along a squall line and tracked 112 miles from near Ellettsville in Monroe County to northeast of Hartford City in Blackford County. A tornado emergency was issued for Marion County as the tornado passed very close to Indianapolis. 127 people were injured, but there were no fatalities.[8]

October

There were 58 tornadoes confirmed in the US in October.

November

There were 96 tornadoes confirmed in the US in November.

November 9–11
Main article: Tornado outbreak of November 9–11, 2002
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
0 20 34 20 8 1 0

The Veterans Day outbreak was an unseasonably strong and destructive severe weather event that spawned 83 tornadoes in 36 hours across a widespread swath in the Central and Eastern United States. It was the second largest tornado outbreak on record in November and also among the deadliest, killing 36 people.

December

There were 99 tornadoes confirmed in the US in December, the most tornadoes ever recorded for that month.

December 17–19

A severe weather event spawned 48 tornadoes across a widespread swath in the Central and southern United States. On December 17th, a long-track F2 tornado killed 2 people and also badly damaged the Lucky Lady Trailer Park near Springfield, MO.[9] Tornadic activity peaked on December 18th when 39 tornadoes occurred, including an F3 tornado that passed near the town of Hamlet and destroyed several permanent and mobile homes, resulting in a fatality. [10] Tornadic activity concluded on the 19th with 6 tornadoes, including an F2 tornado in Mississippi which resulted in no casualties. [11]

December 23–24

An unseasonably strong severe weather event spawned 48 weak tornadoes in 43 hours across a widespread swath in the Southern United States.

December 30–January 1, 2003

A line of storms spawned 13 tornadoes.

See also

References
  1. "U.S. Annual Tornado Maps (1952–2011): 2002 Tornadoes". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  2. Storm Events All States Archived 2006-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  4. US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "NWS Lubbock, TX Local Weather Events: Happy, Texas Tornado". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  5. "Tornado History Project: Kansas on 2002/5/7". www.tornadohistoryproject.com. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  6. "May 7th, 2002 Southwest Kansas Tornadofest -". 2002-05-07. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  7. P.W., Chan; J. Wurman; C.M. Shun; P. Robinson; K. Kosiba (Mar 2012). "Application of a method for the automatic detection and Ground-Based Velocity Track Display (GBVTD) analysis of a tornado crossing the Hong Kong International Airport". Atmos. Res. 106: 18–29. Bibcode:2012AtmRe.106...18C. doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.10.010.
  8. National Weather Service Office in Indianapolis, Indiana (2002). Indiana Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  9. https://www.weather.gov/sgf/events_2002dec17
  10. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5324258
  11. http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com/tornado/2002/12/19/map
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