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.
Synopsis
Fatal United States tornadoes in 2002
Approximate touchdown location of killer tornadoes in 2002
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.
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.[5]
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.[6][7]
A localized outbreak of eight tornadoes struck the Dakotas over a period of only 93 minutes. One supercell thunderstorm spawned six tornadoes in Brown County, South Dakota. One was an F3 tornado that destroyed at least one home. Another was an F4 tornado that occurred four miles east of Barnard, South Dakota and destroyed a pheasant farm. There were no deaths or significant injuries with the storm. The storm was documented by at least one storm chasing team, and was featured on an episode of The Weather Channel's "Storm Stories."[9]
July
There were 68 tornadoes confirmed in the US in July.
July 28
A brief F1 tornado impacted Mottville, New York, which caused $2 million (2002 USD) in damage.[10]
August
There were 86 tornadoes confirmed in the US in August.
August 1
During the first day of August, four tornadoes were confirmed across lower Michigan, including two F1 tornadoes, the first one traveled a mile from the lakeshore in Boyne City, causing significant damage to The Landings Condos and uprooting trees across the town.[11] The final one was half a mile wide and traveled 6 and a half miles, hitting Tustin in the early evening hours of August 1.[12]
August 11
An F4 tornado touched down in North Dakota, injuring or killing nobody.
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.
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.
December 17–19
A severe weather event spawned 48 tornadoes across a widespread swath in the Central and southern United States. On December 17, a long-track F2 tornado killed 2 people and also badly damaged the Lucky Lady Trailer Park near Springfield, MO.[14] Tornadic activity peaked on December 18 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.[15] Tornadic activity concluded on the 19th with 6 tornadoes, including an F2 tornado in Mississippi which resulted in no casualties.[16]
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.
^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.
