1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 21, 9:10 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 910 PM CST FRI FEB 21 2003 AFTER FURTHER REVIEW...WILL HOLD OFF ON UPDATES UNTIL CLOSER TIL MIDNIGHT. .BHM...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ZONES 11>15..22..23..30>32..39.
ALZ011>015-017>050-212215- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 120 PM CST FRI FEB 21 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)... ...POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER EVENT OVERNIGHT... AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME...A DEEPENING SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM EASTERN TEXAS NORTHEASTWARD INTO MIDDLE TENNESSEE. AS THE LOW INTERACTS WITH THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM OVER EASTERN TEXAS AND WESTERN LOUISIANA AND RACE EASTWARD TOWARDS ALABAMA...WELL OUT AHEAD OF THE SURFACE COLD FRONT. BASED ON CURRENT TRENDS...THE SQUALL LINE IS EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE WESTERN COUNTIES OF CENTRAL ALABAMA BETWEEN 10PM AND MIDNIGHT. ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LINE...ISOLATED STORMS COULD DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE LINE. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF ALABAMA REMAINS UNDER A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER...THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EVENT. THE COMPLICATING FACTORS INCLUDE THE RAIN EVENT FROM THIS MORNING...AND A BETTER DEFINED WARM FRONT THAT IS CURRENTLY HUGGING THE COAST. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE COMBINATION OF THESE FACTORS WILL DIMINISH THE THREAT TO STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND HAIL...BUT AT THIS TIME...WE WILL MAINTAIN THE TORNADIC THREAT. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ABOVE MENTIONED SQUALL LINE WILL BE EXITING THE STATE EARLY SATURDAY. A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE EASTERN MOST COUNTIES OF ALABAMA IN THE MORNING HOURS. FOLLOWING A GOOD BREAK IN THE CLOUDS AND RAIN...THE COLD FRONT WILL BRING A RETURN TO CLOUDS AND SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED WITH THE COLD FRONT AT THIS TIME. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL LIKELY BE NECESSARY TONIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY MORNING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Some road flooding was reported on Highway 17 near Vernon. An embankment caved in along the highway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, February 2003
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5340395.