YearFinal SPC data

2002

934 tornadoes in 2002, with 12,536 hail and 11,806 wind reports, from the NOAA SPC severe weather database.

Tornado recordHail + windDaily reportsStorm Events narrativesEF ScaleMax path width

Tornado deaths

F0 623 F1 215 F2 65 F3 26 F4 5

Hail and wind show significant reports only (2 in or larger, 65 kt or stronger). Click a legend item to show or hide it, or "only" to see just that. Select anything on the map to open its record.

Tornadoes by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Hail reports by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Wind reports by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Storm days

Every day with a tornado, hail or wind report. Warmer colors mean more tornadoes; gray days had hail or wind only; a white ring marks a day with an F4/EF4 or stronger tornado.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Running count

2002 against the years around it and the 1991 to 2020 average

20021991 to 2020 average1997 to 2007 (other years)

934 tornadoes in 2002, 24% below the 1991 to 2020 average of 1,231.

Counts by storm day (12Z to 12Z). Reporting changed a great deal over the decades, so years far from 1991 to 2020 are not a like-for-like comparison with the average.

Busiest tornado days

#	Day	Tornadoes	F/EF4+	Deaths	Strongest	States
1	11/10/02	68	1	32	F4	AL, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MS, OH, PA +2
2	05/05/02	34	0	2	F2	KS, NE, OK, TX
3	12/18/02	33	0	1	F3	AR, LA, MO
4	10/03/02	25	0	0	F1	LA, MS
5	04/28/02	24	1	3	F4	MD, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV
6	04/27/02	24	0	3	F3	IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MO, NE, TN
7	03/30/02	23	0	0	F3	TX
8	05/08/02	22	0	2	F2	IA, IL, KS, MO, OH, OK
9	05/07/02	20	0	0	F3	KS, TX
10	12/23/02	20	0	0	F1	AL, FL, MS, TX
11	05/11/02	16	0	0	F0	KS
12	03/19/02	15	0	0	F2	TX
13	04/16/02	14	0	0	F3	OK, TX
14	05/01/02	14	0	0	F1	IL, TN
15	04/18/02	13	0	0	F1	IA, IL, KS, WI

Busiest severe weather days

tornado, hail and wind reports together

#	Day	All reports	Tornadoes	Hail	Wind	Largest hail	Top gust
1	11/10/02	663	68	218	377	2.75 in	87 kt (100 mph)
2	04/18/02	519	13	370	136	3 in	75 kt (86 mph)
3	06/04/02	516	5	307	204	4.5 in	80 kt (92 mph)
4	04/28/02	506	24	337	145	4.5 in	75 kt (86 mph)
5	05/08/02	466	22	276	168	2.75 in	82 kt (94 mph)
6	05/05/02	418	34	322	62	3 in	80 kt (92 mph)
7	06/15/02	401	4	162	235	2.75 in	84 kt (97 mph)
8	08/26/02	387	10	199	178	4.5 in	87 kt (100 mph)
9	05/02/02	355	3	195	157	3 in	90 kt (104 mph)
10	05/13/02	349	6	24	319	1.75 in	80 kt (92 mph)
11	04/17/02	344	7	303	34	4.5 in	65 kt (75 mph)
12	05/31/02	344	11	115	218	2.5 in	91 kt (105 mph)
13	08/16/02	319	1	175	143	4.5 in	70 kt (81 mph)
14	05/07/02	316	20	244	52	4.5 in	70 kt (81 mph)
15	07/28/02	306	7	99	200	4.5 in	78 kt (90 mph)

Largest hail

top 15

#	Date	Size	Place
1	06/12/02	5 in	Buffalo County, NE
2	06/12/02	5 in	Buffalo County, NE
3	06/12/02	5 in	Buffalo County, NE
4	03/19/02	4.5 in	Uvalde County, TX
5	03/19/02	4.5 in	Medina County, TX
6	04/07/02	4.5 in	Val Verde County, TX
7	04/07/02	4.5 in	Medina County, TX
8	04/14/02	4.5 in	Marion County, MO
9	04/17/02	4.5 in	Beckham County, OK
10	04/28/02	4.5 in	Charles County, MD
11	04/29/02	4.5 in	Montgomery County, AR
12	04/29/02	4.5 in	Wise County, TX
13	05/01/02	4.5 in	Nelson County, KY
14	05/01/02	4.5 in	Marion County, KY
15	05/01/02	4.5 in	Lincoln County, KY

Strongest wind gusts

top 15, measured first on ties

#	Date	Gust	mph	Type	Place
1	03/25/02	100 kt	115	Not given	Cass County, TX
2	04/28/02	100 kt	115	Not given	Green County, KY
3	06/27/02	100 kt	115	Not given	Lebanon County, PA
4	08/18/02	96 kt	110	Not given	Aroostook County, ME
5	07/20/02	92 kt	106	Not given	Meade County, SD
6	05/31/02	91 kt	105	Not given	Allegheny County, PA
7	07/14/02	91 kt	105	Not given	Maricopa County, AZ
8	01/24/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Edmonson County, KY
9	03/16/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Robeson County, NC
10	04/28/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Edmonson County, KY
11	04/28/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Lincoln County, KY
12	05/02/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Warren County, TN
13	06/08/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Carter County, MT
14	07/08/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Rosebud County, MT
15	07/14/02	90 kt	104	Not given	Custer County, ID

F4/EF4 and stronger

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
04/24/02	F4	Van Buren to Poplar Bluff, Missouri	MO	40.5 mi	650 yd	0	16
04/28/02	F4	Indian Head to Leonardtown, Maryland	MD	38.0 mi	650 yd	3	122
06/23/02	F4	Aberdeen to Ellendale, South Dakota	SD	9.0 mi	900 yd	0	0
08/11/02	F4	Jamestown, North Dakota	ND	1.0 mi	300 yd	0	0
11/10/02	F4	Ohio City to Hamler, Ohio	OH	52.8 mi	880 yd	4	17

Deadliest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Tornado	State	Length	Width	Deaths	Injuries
11/10/02	F3	Wartburg to Oliver Springs, Tennessee	TN	8.3 mi	300 yd	7	28
11/10/02	F3	Fayette to Holly Pond, Alabama	AL	72.6 mi	1,175 yd	7	53
11/10/02	F4	Ohio City to Hamler, Ohio	OH	52.8 mi	880 yd	4	17
11/10/02	F3	Fayette to Arley, Alabama	AL	44.3 mi	1,175 yd	4	38
11/10/02	F3	Crossville to Crab Orchard, Tennessee	TN	12.2 mi	900 yd	4	18
04/28/02	F4	Indian Head to Leonardtown, Maryland	MD	38.0 mi	650 yd	3	122
05/05/02	F2	Happy, Texas	TX	5.0 mi	150 yd	2	4
05/09/02	F1	Centralia, Illinois	IL	0.5 mi	100 yd	2	0
10/29/02	F2	Eunice to Ville Platte, Louisiana	LA	10.5 mi	50 yd	2	3
11/09/02	F2	Atwood to Trezevant, Tennessee	TN	10.0 mi	220 yd	2	6
11/10/02	F1	Adams, Tennessee	TN	0.3 mi	400 yd	2	0
11/10/02	F2	Wartrace to Morrison, Tennessee	TN	12.3 mi	450 yd	2	24
12/17/02	F2	Mount Vernon, Missouri	MO	4.0 mi	100 yd	2	17
04/21/02	F3	Wayne City to Albion, Illinois	IL	31.5 mi	500 yd	1	42
04/28/02	F3	Marble Hill, Missouri	MO	4.0 mi	200 yd	1	16

Storm days. A day here runs from 12Z to 12Z (6 a.m. CST to 6 a.m. CST the next morning), the way SPC counts storm days, so an overnight tornado counts with the afternoon and evening before it.
Reporting changed over time. Tornado counts rose from the 1990s on as Doppler radar, spotter networks and cameras caught more weak tornadoes. Counts from different decades are not directly comparable, especially for the weakest ratings.
F and EF ratings. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale replaced the Fujita (F) Scale on 02/01/07. Both estimate wind speed from damage, but they use different damage indicators, so each rating is shown with its own scale.

Titan Archive · a Tornado Titans project Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database · updated 10/03/26