1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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 Mar 19, 3:06 AM CST, 6 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 306 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003 UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROF WILL CONTINUE TO ROTATE NORTHWARD THIS MORNING AND TAKE SHWRS/TSTMS OUT OF ALABAMA BY LATE MORNING. STRONG SUBSIDENCE BEHIND SHORT WAVE TROF NOTED BY WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. MODELS HANDLE THIS FEATURE WELL AND EXPECT VERY LITTLE IF ANY RE-DEVELOPMENT OF CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ALABAMA ON BACK SIDE OF TROF. TONIGHT...AIRMASS IS CAPPED AND MODELS SHOW SURFACE DEWPOINTS DROPPING OFF TO THE LOWER 50S. HOWEVER...ETA IS SHOWING ANOTHER IMPULSE AND APPROACHING JET STREAK...SO I WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS. UPPER LOW OVER PLAINS STATES FORECAST TO OPEN UP AND WEAKEN ON THURSDAY AS ITS LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD. NONE OF THE MODELS SHOW ANY WIDESPREAD DEVELOPMENT OF CONVECTION THROUGH FRIDAY. MY GUT FEELING IS THAT THERE WILL BE A LINE OF SHWRS AND TSTMS DEVELOP ALONG WEAKENING FRONTAL BOUNDARY THURSDAY NIGHT. GIVEN LOSS OF UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND MARGINAL SHEAR AHEAD OF FRONT...DO NOT FORESEE ANY SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER. ALL SAID...POTENTIAL IS THERE FOR ANY STORMS TO BECOME SEVERE. I WILL REMOVE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WORDING FOR TONIGHT...BUT LEAVE IN ZONES FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. WHATS LEFT OF UPPER TROF MOVES EAST OF ALABAMA FRIDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER SHORT WAVE APPROACHES ALABAMA LATE SATURDAY...BUT WEAKENS RAPIDLY. LATEST GFS DOES NOT SHOW ANY PCPN ACROSS ALABAMA UNTIL MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. MOS GUIDANCE ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH LOWS NEXT COUPLE OF NIGHTS. NGM/ETA SHOWING COOLER NUMBERS DUE TO LOWERING DEWPOINTS. MM5/AVN KEEPING DEWPOINTS UP IN SOUTHERLY FLOW...AND WILL LEAN TOWARDS AVN MOS LOWS. A GOOD DOSE OF SUNSHINE NEXT FEW DAYS WILL KEEP HIGHS WELL ABOVE NORMAL. BHM 76 56 78 73/ 30 20 30 40 MGM 79 58 81 58/ 40 20 30 40 .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-191615- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 716 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (TODAY AND TONIGHT)... AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS ALABAMA THIS MORNING. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY BE STRONG...PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH AND SMALL HAIL. THE THREAT WILL BE MAINLY CONFINED TO EAST ALABAMA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN ACROSS ALABAMA THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER...A LACK OF DEEP MOISTURE WILL HINDER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THURSDAY NIGHT WILL BE THE FAVORED PERIOD FOR ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS... AS A WEAK COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA. STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES REGARDING THE TIMING AND EXTENT OF THIS POTENTIAL WEATHER HAZARD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY TODAY OR TONIGHT.
ALZ011>015-017-022>025-030>035-039-191100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA 354 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55... BIBB...CHILTON...DALLAS...GREENE...HALE... MARENGO...PERRY...SHELBY...SUMTER... THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 AM... BLOUNT...FAYETTE...JEFFERSON...LAMAR...MARION... PICKENS...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON...
ALZ011-191045-
THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
416 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003
.A THUNDERSTORM ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR MARION COUNTY UNTIL 445 AM
CST...
.WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR ARE POSSIBLE FROM AN APPROACHING
THUNDERSTORM.
AT 413 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM OVER GU-WIN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR WINFIELD...GUIN...
GU-WIN...BRILLIANT AND BEAR CREEK THROUGH 445 AM CST.
THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THIS STORM IS FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY SURFACE WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH. OUTDOOR
OBJECTS SUCH AS LAWN FURNITURE...TRASH CANS....OR OTHER HOUSEHOLD
ITEMS COULD BE BLOWN AROUND.
LAT...LON 3405 8796 3431 8778 3431 8764 3409 8765
3393 8779 3393 8787 3396 8795ALZ011>015-017-022>025-030>035-039-191100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA 429 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55... BLOUNT...JEFFERSON...PICKENS...TUSCALOOSA... THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 AM... FAYETTE...LAMAR...MARION...WALKER...WINSTON...
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A funnel cloud was reported by Alabama State Troopers near Blountsville.
Several trees were snapped off between Royal and Liberty and also on CR 26.
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, March 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: 5348303, 5348304.