1 lightning, 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 Jul 13, 5:20 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 620 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003 CURRENT RADAR INDICATES SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS OF FORECAST AREA. HAVE HAD ISOLATED SEVERE IN THE AREA AND EXPECT TREND TO CONTINUE FOR NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. STORMS ARE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST...ALSO MONITORING AREA FOR POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING. ONLY STORMS IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH ARE IN PICKENS AND TALLADEGA COUNTIES AND WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR. STORM IN PICKENS COUNTY IS MOVING TO SOUTH...WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR WESTERN PORTIONS OF ALABAMA...BUT AM EXPECTING TO CLEAR MOST OF WATCH WITHIN NEXT HALF HOUR OR SO. WILL UPDATE ZONES AT THAT TIME TO REMOVE SEVERE WORDING...BUT WILL LEAVE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM WORDING AS IS UNTIL LATER UPDATE. .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-132000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 100 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)... A SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE NEARLY STATIONARY OVER PARTS OF TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR NEAR AND SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY THIS EFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING. SOME OF THESE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG...AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE MAIN CONCERN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA AGAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO BECOME STRONG WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING STRONG GUSTY WINDS. A RETURN TO A MORE TYPICAL SUMMERTIME WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED AFTER MONDAY... WITH ISOLATED TO SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MIGHT BE NECESSARY THROUGH THIS EVENING.
ALZ012-132030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 249 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003 .A THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR LAMAR COUNTY UNTIL 330 PM CDT... .WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR ARE POSSIBLE FROM AN APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM. AT 248 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM OVER VERNON...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR VERNON...MOLLOY AND KENNEDY THROUGH 330 PM CDT. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS STRONG WINDS. WINDS 35 TO 45 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. OUTDOOR OBJECTS SUCH AS LAWN FURNITURE...TRASH CANS....OR OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS COULD BE BLOWN AROUND. LAT...LON 3380 8822 3362 8823 3356 8795 3385 8796
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
330 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0310 PM VERNON AL WIND DAMAGE
07/13/03 LAMAR TREES DOWN ON ABERDEEN
ROAD, AND BEAVER CREEK
ROAD, IN VERNON.
REPORTED BY LAMAR COUNTY
EMA.ALZ036-132300-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
513 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003
.A THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR COOSA COUNTY UNTIL 600 PM
CDT...
.WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR ARE POSSIBLE FROM AN APPROACHING
THUNDERSTORM.
AT 511 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM OVER WEOGUFKA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR WEOGUFKA...
STEWARTVILLE AND ROCKFORD THROUGH 600 PM CDT.
THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS STRONG WINDS. WINDS 35 TO 45
MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. OUTDOOR OBJECTS SUCH AS LAWN
FURNITURE...TRASH CANS....OR OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS COULD BE BLOWN
AROUND.
LAT...LON 3309 8625 3305 8646 3276 8635 3276 8601
3307 8611ALZ011>015-017>020-022>027-140100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA 643 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 738... BLOUNT...CALHOUN...CHEROKEE...ETOWAH...FAYETTE... JEFFERSON...LAMAR...MARION...PICKENS...SHELBY... ST CLAIR...TALLADEGA...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON... THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 738 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM...
ALZ046-140030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 647 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003 .A THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR BULLOCK COUNTY UNTIL 730 PM CDT... .FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING. AT 647 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM NEAR UNION SPRINGS. THE THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS NEARLY STATIONARY AND WAS PRODUCING LIGHTNING AT A RATE OF ONE STRIKE EVERY 1 OR 2 SECONDS. IN ADDITION...WINDS MAY GUST TO 30 OR 40 MPH. THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR UNION SPRINGS THROUGH 730 PM CDT. LAT...LON 3209 8564 3222 8577 3214 8596 3198 8578
ALZ029-037-038-043>045-047-140115-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
715 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 2003
.A THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR MONTGOMERY...MACON...LEE...
ELMORE...TALLAPOOSA...CHAMBERS AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES UNTIL 815 PM
CDT...
.WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR ARE POSSIBLE FROM APPROACHING
THUNDERSTORMS.
AT 714 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM 5 MILES SOUTH OF WEDOWEE TO MOUNT MEIGS...
MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR
WETUMPKA...WEDOWEE...WADLEY...MOUNT MEIGS...KENT...ECLECTIC...
DAVISTON AND CAMP HILL THROUGH 815 PM CDT.
THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS STRONG WINDS. WINDS 35 TO 45
MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. OUTDOOR OBJECTS SUCH AS LAWN
FURNITURE...TRASH CANS....OR OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS COULD BE BLOWN
AROUND. THESE STORMS WILL ALSO PRODUCE FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES.
LAT...LON 3333 8558 3274 8575 3256 8636 3228 8621
3238 8550 3274 8530 3331 8524The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A home was struck by lightning in Millbrook. The house sustained minor damage.
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, July 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: 5376318.