2002 Atlantic hurricane season facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2002 Atlantic hurricane season

First storm started:	July 14, 2002
Last storm ended:	October 16, 2002
Strongest storm:	Hurricane Lili - 938 mbar, 145 mph winds
Total storms:	12
Hurricanes:	4
Major hurricanes (Cat. 3+)	2
Cost of damage:	$1.2 billion (2002 USD) $1.35 billion (2006 USD)
People killed:	23 direct

The 2002 Atlantic hurricane season was a buzzword used to reference all of the hurricanes happening in 2012. The season officially began on June 1 and ended on November 30. In total, 12 named storms and 4 other hurricanes formed.

Because of an El Nino event happening in the Pacific Ocean, the season ended early on October 16 when the last storm died out. Although most of the season remained quiet, it was very active during the month of September and broke the record of the most number of storms forming in September. The most notable hurricanes were Hurricane Lili which was the strongest and deadliest storm of the season, and Hurricane Isidore which killed a total of 7 people in Louisiana.

Storms

Tropical Storm Arthur

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	July 14 – July 16
Intensity	60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min),  997 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Depression One formed offshore North Carolina. One became Tropical Storm Arthur. Tropical Storm Arthur crossed part of the Atlantic moving northeast. Arthur curved north after moving northeast. Arthur started dying but Arthur made landfall in Newfoundland before completely dying on July 16.

Tropical Storm Bertha

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	August 4 – August 9
Intensity	40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min),  1007 mbar (hPa)

Bertha formed very quickly into a tropical storm from a tropical depression on August 4. Only two hours after that Bertha made landfall in Boothville, Louisiana. Over Louisiana it weakened to a tropical depression. Bertha went back into the Gulf of Mexico but did not become a tropical storm again. On September 9 Bertha made landfall again near Kingsville, Texas, Bertha died only ten hours later. Bertha left only $200,000 in damage and killed only 1 person.

Tropical Storm Cristobal

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	August 5 – August 8
Intensity	50 mph (85 km/h) (1-min),  999 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Cristobal was a cyclone that formed in August 2002. It stayed away from land for most of its life. However, when it died out, what was left of the storm caused rain and wind on Bermuda. It also caused stormy seas that caused three people to drown near Long Island. No severe damage happened.

Tropical Storm Dolly

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	August 29 – September 4
Intensity	60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min),  997 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Dolly formed on August 29 as Tropical Depression Four. Four became a Tropical Storm Dolly before dying on September 4. Tropical Storm Dolly did not affect land during her lifetime.

Tropical Storm Edouard

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	September 1 – September 6
Intensity	65 mph (100 km/h) (1-min),  1002 mbar (hPa)

Edouard formed on September 1 as Tropical Depression Five. Five because a tropical storm. Edouard made a loop and weakened. Edouard made landfall in Ormond Beach, Florida on September 5 as a very weak tropical storm. Edouard died after crossing Florida. No one knows the damage and no one was killed by Edouard.

Tropical Storm Fay

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	September 5 – September 11
Intensity	60 mph (95 km/h) (1-min),  998 mbar (hPa)

On September 5 Tropical Depression Six formed. It moved slowly and became Tropical Storm Fay the next day. On September 7 Fay made landfall near Port O'Connor, Texas. Fay moved over Texas into Mexico and did not completely die until September 11.

Tropical Depression Seven

Tropical depression (SSHS)
Duration	September 7 – September 8
Intensity	35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min),  1013 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Depression Seven formed from a tropical wave on September 7. It had a maximum wind speed of 35 mph and a minimum pressure of 1013 mbar. It moved usually west, and was later torn apart by wind shear on September 8. It did not have an effect on land.

Hurricane Gustav

Category 2 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration	September 8 – September 12
Intensity	100 mph (155 km/h) (1-min),  960 mbar (hPa)

On September 8 Subtropical Depression Eight formed. Eight became a subtropical storm and was named Gustav. After that Gustav became a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Gustav moved very close to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Gustav moved away and became a hurricane on September 11. Gustav then moved very fast and made landfall over Nova Scotia and Newfoundland before Gustav died on September 12. Since Gustav became a hurricane on September 11 it was the latest day ever for a tropical storm to become a hurricane in the Atlantic. Gustav killed 4 people and left $340,000 in damage.

Tropical Storm Hanna

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	September 12 – September 15
Intensity	55 mph (90 km/h) (1-min),  1001 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Hanna formed in the as Tropical Depression Nine. Nine quickly became Tropical Storm Hanna before making landfall near the border of Mississippi and Alabama on September 14. Hanna left $20 million in damage and killed 3 people.

Hurricane Isidore

Category 3 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration	September 14 – September 27
Intensity	125 mph (205 km/h) (1-min),  934 mbar (hPa)

Isidore started as Tropical Depression Ten on September 14. Ten crossed Venezuela not long after forming. Because it stay over and near Venezuela Ten fell apart and was not a tropical depression after that. The remains became Tropical Depression Ten again on September 17. The next day Ten became Tropical Storm Isidore. Isidore later on became a hurricane and moved slowly over Cuba and the Yucatán Peninsula. The storm made landfall in Louisiana as a tropical storm on September 26. Isidore fell apart again and was last seen on September 27 before it went into a frontal zone in Pennsylvania. Isidore left $1.3 billion in damage and 22 deaths. No one knows the damage in Cuba.

Tropical Storm Josephine

Tropical storm (SSHS)
Duration	September 17 – September 19
Intensity	40 mph (65 km/h) (1-min),  1009 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Storm Josephine was a weak tropical storm that formed on September 17 as Tropical Depression Eleven. It became a tropical storm later on before it died only two days later, which was September 19. Josephine did not cause damage or kill anyone.

Hurricane Kyle

Category 1 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration	September 20 – October 12
Intensity	85 mph (140 km/h) (1-min),  980 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Kyle lasted more than 3 weeks. Hurricane Kyle started as a Subtropical Depression on September 20. It became a subtropical storm, then a tropical storm, and after that, a hurricane. It weakened back to a tropical storm and down to a tropical depression. It became a tropical storm again and made a landfall in McClellanville, South Carolina. Kyle made its second and last landfall in Long Beach, North Carolina on the same day. Kyle left only $5 million in damage and killed only 1 person.

Hurricane Lili

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)
Duration	September 21 – October 4
Intensity	145 mph (230 km/h) (1-min),  938 mbar (hPa)

Hurricane Lili formed on September 21 as Tropical Depression Thirteen. It became a tropical storm on September 23, then it became a tropical wave on September and was not a tropical storm anymore. It reformed and became a tropical depression on September 28. Lili became a tropical storm again and a hurricane on September 30. Lili later made landfall in Cuba and Louisiana. Lili left almost $1 billion in damage and killed 15 people.

Tropical Depression Fourteen

Tropical depression (SSHS)
Duration	October 14 – October 16
Intensity	35 mph (55 km/h) (1-min),  1002 mbar (hPa)

Tropical Depression Fourteen formed from a tropical wave on October 14. It had maximum wind speeds of 35 mph, and a minimum pressure of 1002 mbar. For most of the time, it was predicted to become a tropical storm, and to go up through the Bahamas. However, strong wind shear from the northeast did not allow development, and after making landfall in southern Cuba on October 16, it was destroyed by a cold front. Although it created heavy rains, there was no damage.

Storm names

This is the list of names that were set aside for the Atlantic in 2002. Names that were not used are marked in gray.

Retirement

After the season the names Isidore and Lili were retired. In 2008 Ike and Laura were used instead.

Related pages

• List of Atlantic hurricane seasons

Images for kids

• 

  Hurricane Lili over the Gulf of Mexico on October 2, as seen by the International Space Station

See also

In Spanish: Temporada de huracanes en el Atlántico de 2002 para niños