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 20, 1:39 PM CST, 4 hours 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 239 PM CDT TUE MAY 20 2003 VERY CONVOLUTED WEATHER PATTERN ACROSS SOUTHERN UNITED STATES WITH SURFACE WEDGE OVER ALABAMA...INVERTED TROF OVER MISSISSIPPI AND COLD FRONT FROM EAST TEXAS TO WESTERN KENTUCKY. ALL OF THESE FEATURES MAKE FOR TOUGH FORECAST FIRST 24 HOURS. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A SMOKING GUN WHICH WOULD LEAD ME TO ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT. VERY WEAK FORCING EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF FORECAST AREA THROUGH TONIGHT DUE MAINLY IN PART TO LOW LEVEL WEDGE. CONVECTION THROUGH THIS EVENING SHOULD PRIMARILY BE CONFINED TO EAST MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...IN AREA OF GREATEST INSTABILITY EAST OF INVERTED TROF. TROF AXIS WILL SLIDE SLOWLY EASTWARD TONIGHT AND BE NEAR THE AL/MS LINE BY 12Z WEDNESDAY. SURFACE LOW EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTHWEST ALABAMA WEDNESDAY MORNING AND MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. I BELIEVE IT IS DURING THIS TIME FRAME THAT WE ARE UNDER THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL. I WILL HOLD OFF ISSUING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME...BUT POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR HEAVY RAINFALL TOWARDS MORNING. I PREFER MM5/NGM QPF ON WEDNESDAY WHICH KEEPS HEAVIEST RAINFALL ALONG FRONTAL BOUNDARY. IT LOOKS LIKE HEAVY RAINFALL WILL SPILL OVER INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL COUNTIES. RAIN SHOULD BEGIN TO EXIT ALABAMA THURSDAY MORNING AS UPPER TROF AXIS MOVES INTO GEORGIA...AND WILL KEEP SMALL POPS FOR SOUTHEAST ZONES ON THURSDAY. A DRY FORECAST FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. NEXT SYSTEM DUE IN ON TUESDAY...AND WILL INCLUDE CHANCE OF SHOWERS. BHM 63 70 61 78/ 60 80 50 10 MGM 65 75 65 80/ 60 80 80 20 .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-202100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 124 PM CDT TUE MAY 20 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)... SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE ACROSS THE AREA RIGHT ON INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. ALTHOUGH CONDITIONS ARE NOT CONDUCIVE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THAT MAY CAUSE FLOODING. RIVER FLOODING ALSO CONTINUES ACROSS THE AREA. SEE SPECIFIC RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILED INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY)... THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY....AND SHOULD FINALLY DIMINISH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON OR WEDNESDAY EVENING. DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT FALLS TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY... RIVER FLOODING MAY BECOME AGGRAVATED ONCE AGAIN THROUGH THE MIDDLE AND END OF THE WEEK. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF SEVERE STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY THROUGH TONIGHT. ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...DUE TO POTENTIAL FLOODING CONCERNS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Tombigbee River at Demopolis Lock and Dam was above flood stage of 68 feet during this time period. The maximum crest reported was 73.73 feet at 5 am on May 23.
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: 5360702.