Thunderstorm Wind, Lamar
- When
- July 21, 3:17 PM CST
- Where
- Lamar County, 5 mi N of Vernon
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.817, -88.117
Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, July 21, 2003
Several trees were blown down along SR 17 and Mount Pisgah Road. Penny size hail was also reported with this storm.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.
Several trees were blown down along SR 17 and Mount Pisgah Road. Penny size hail was also reported with this storm.
What forecasters said that day
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 21, 2:11 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 2:11 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 311 PM CDT MON JUL 21 2003 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS PUT ME BEHIND SCHEDULE WITH THIS DISCUSSION. LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE SOUTHEAST AND SPREAD ACROSS MOST OF NORTH ALABAMA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. VERY LITTLE CONVECTION WEST OF TUPELO...SO LIKELY POPS WILL BE CONFINED TO NORTHERN COUNTIES. ALL CONVECTION SHOULD DIE DOWN LATER THIS EVENING...AND EXPECT LITTLE ACTIVITY AFTER MIDNIGHT. ANOTHER MCS LIKELY TO AFFECT AREA ON TUESDAY...WITH TIMING PROBABLY SIMILAR TO TODAY. MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH BEST UPPER LIFT AND DYNAMICS MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA TUESDAY NIGHT...AS COLD FRONT MOVES INTO NW ALABAMA. THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS ANYTIME THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...AS DYNAMICS VERY STRONG FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. UPPER TROF DIGS SOUTHWARD OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES WITH RAIN PULLING OUT OF SOUTH ALABAMA WEDNESDAY MORNING. MUCH DRIER AND SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR WILL INFILTRATE THE AREA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. UPPER TROF EXITS ALABAMA FAIRLY QUICKLY AND SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS TO THE AREA ON SATURDAY. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROF WILL AFFECT AREA BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... BHM 72 87 67 84 63 / 70 60 70 20 MGM 72 90 71 87 65 / 40 50 70 40 .BHM...NONE. 58/ROSE
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 21, 12:00 PM CST, 3 hours 17 minutes before
ALZ011>015-017>050-212000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK ...CORRECTION... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 100 PM CDT MON JUL 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)... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO CLANTON TO WEDOWEE. IN ADDITION TO THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE COUNTY WARNING AREA...THE WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL ACROSS THIS AREA IS ALSO IN THE HIGH CATEGORY. THIS MEANS THERE IS A GREATER POTENTIAL FOR STRONG PULSE TYPE STORMS THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN THREATS ARE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL FOR THE REMAINING THIRD OF THE COUNTY WARNING AREA IS MODERATE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. AN UNUSUALLY STRONG COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON TUESDAY. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AS THE PRIMARY HAZARD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Lamar
- When
- July 21, 3:17 PM CST
- Where
- Lamar County, 5 mi N of Vernon
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 33.817, -88.117
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Ohio, July 21 to 24, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, July 21 to 22, 2003
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in New York, July 21, 2003
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, July 21, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 21, 2003
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, July 21, 2003
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, July 21, 2003
- Rip Current in California, July 21, 2003
- Flooding in Ohio, July 21 to 23, 2003
- Flood in Ohio, July 21 to 24, 2003
- Tornado and Hail in Nebraska, July 21, 2003
- Flash Flood and Hail in Tennessee, July 21 to 23, 2003
More
Every storm in Alabama in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 2003
Sources
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: 5376671, 5376672.