1 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 May 18, 2:00 AM CST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 300 AM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003 WIDESPREAD RAIN/EMBEDDED TSTMS CONTINUING ERY THIS MORNING IN A SW TO NE BAND BISECTING THE STATE...BUT THERE HAS BEEN A VERY SLOW DIMINISHING TREND. OTHER SHOWERS ALSO SHOWING UP IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA CLOSER TO THE 5H LOW CENTER. MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM IS WHETHER TO EXTEND FFA FOR TODAY. LOW FFG...MOIST AIR MASS AND DIVERGENCE ALOFT TO THE EAST OF THE UPPER LOW WOULD SUPPORT CONTG WATCH FOR TODAY FROM WHERE THE RAIN IS NOW OCCURRING TO THE NORTH AND WEST. HOWEVER...MODELS IN GEN AGREEMENT THAT WARMER AIR ALOFT WILL BE WORKING SOUTHWARD INTO THIS AREA TODAY...WITH THE MORE UNSTABLE AIR MASS AND BETTER LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE SHIFTING TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. ADDITIONALLY...AIR MASS IN THE NORTH AND WEST SECTIONS HAS BEEN WORKED OVER PRETTY WELL BY THE PREVIOUS TWO DAYS CONVECTION AND CLOUDS OVER THIS AREA SHOULD HELP TO LIMIT INSOLATION TODAY. THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT HEAVIER RAINFALL TODAY SHOULD SHIFT TO THE SOUTHEAST OF WHERE PCPN IS CURRENTLY OCCURRING...AND QPF PROGS FROM HPC SUPPORT THIS. SO...ATTM DO NOT PLAN ON EXTENDING FFA FOR TODAY... BUT WL PROBABLY MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE FOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA. OTHERWISE...5H LOW FCST BY MODELS TO DROP SOUTHEAST TO THE GULF COAST BY MONDAY MORNING AND THEN CONTINUE SOUTHWARD INTO THE GULF. MOIST AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THE NEXT FEW DAYS...SO WILL HAVE TO KEEP MENTION OF SHWRS/TSTMS INTO MID WEEK...ALTHOUGH COVERAGE SHOULD BE LESS ON MONDAY THAN THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. HOWEVER...CDFNT MOVING INTO AREA TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY TIME FRAME PROMISES TO BRING INCREASED ACTIVITY ONCE AGAIN. HOWEVER... SHOULD SEE SOME DRIER WEATHER BEHIND THE FRONT BY WEEKS END AS DRIER... MORE STABLE...AND SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR MASS WORKS INTO REGION. BHM 078/066 082/067 080 6453 MGM 082/069 084/068 083 6453 .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-172000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 100 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 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 ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD TOWARD THE AREA. WITH WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS FROM THE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS POSSIBLE. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS THE AREA...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...WHICH MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY AS THE UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED FOR THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED FOR TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Tombigbee River at the Bevill Lock and Dam was in flood during this time reaching a maximum crest of 123.31 around 12:30 am CDT on May 19. Flood stage is 122 feet.
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, May 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: 5360699.