1 flash 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 7, 1:21 PM CST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 221 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003 TOO BUSY FOR MUCH OF A DISCUSSION. ANOTHER IMPULSE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. SEVERAL BOUNDARIES WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE AREA ON THURSDAY AND WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS FOR MOST SECTIONS. UPPER RIDGING WILL TAKE PLACE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AND WILL LEAVE POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST. NEXT SYSTEM WILL APPROACH ON SUNDAY AND THEN MORE UNSETTLED WEATHER THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. BHM 70/86/70/89/69 53--- MGM 71/89/70/91/69 62--- .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-072045- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 151 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)... SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD LAST INTO THE EVENING HOURS WITH LONG LIVED TORNADIC SUPERCELLS MARCHING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE ALSO THREATS...ALONG WITH POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY BUILD IN FROM THE SOUTH OVER THE REST OF THE WEEK. THIS WILL MOVE THE AREA OF POTENTIAL SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NORTHWARD OUT OF ALABAMA FOR THE END OF THE WEEK. ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...AT THIS TIME NO WIDESPREAD OR ORGANIZED AREAS OF SEVERE STORMS AREA EXPECTED ON THOSE DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL AND STORM SPOTTERS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
403 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0248 PM WILSONVILLE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 SHELBY AT WILLS CAMP. REPORTED
BY SHELBY COUNTY EMA.
0248 PM LINCOLN AL WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03 TALLADEGA WIND DAMAGE TO A TRAILOR.
REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.
0300 PM LINCOLN AL WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03 TALLADEGA NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
PUBLIC REPORT.
0306 PM HARPERSVILLE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 SHELBY 2 BUILDINGS WITH ROOFS
OFF NEAR POWER PLANT.
REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATORS.
0310 PM WILSONVILLE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 SHELBY NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND
HOUSES DAMAGED. REPORTED
BY HAM RADIO OPERATOR.
0320 PM SYCAMORE AL 1.75 IN HAIL
05/07/03 TALLADEGA GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL.
REPORTED BY NWS STORM
SPOTTER.
0321 PM LEEDS AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 JEFFERSON ON HWY 78. REPORTED BY
HAM RADIO OPERATOR.
0338 PM LINCOLN AL WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03 TALLADEGA POWER LINES DOWN NORTH OF
HONDA PLANT. REPORTED BY
HAM RADIO OPERATOR.
0348 PM PIEDMONT AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 CALHOUN PUBLIC REPORT.
0400 PM NEW LONDON AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 ST. CLAIR PUBLIC REPORT.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
413 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0352 PM SAYRE AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 JEFFERSON REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.
0403 PM BIRMINGHAM AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 JEFFERSON NEAR DOWNTOWN. REPORTED
BY HAM RADIO OPERATOR.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
432 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0404 PM ALPINE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 TALLADEGA TORNADO ON THE GROUND.
REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.
0424 PM TARRANT CITY AL 0.75 IN HAIL
05/07/03 JEFFERSON PENNY SIZE HAIL.
REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATOR.
0424 PM TALLADEGA AL TORNADO
05/07/03 TALLADEGA SEVERAL HOMES DAMAGED.
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY THE MEDIA.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
437 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0344 PM ASHLAND AL 1.00 IN HAIL
05/07/03 CLAY QUARTER SIZE HAIL.
REPORTED BY CLAY COUNTY
EMA.
0403 PM ASHLAND AL TORNADO
05/07/03 CLAY REPORTED BY CLAY
SHERIFFS OFFICE.
0404 PM ALPINE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 TALLADEGA REPORTED BY TALLADEGA
COUNTY EMA.
0405 PM LINEVILLE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 CLAY BETWEEN LINEVILLE AND
ASHLAND VIEWED BY THE
CLAY COUNTY EMA.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
447 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0330 PM MUNFORD AL TORNADO
05/07/03 TALLADEGA 12 HOMES AND 1 BUSINESS
DAMAGED. REPORTED BY
MEDIA.
0433 PM ALPINE AL FUNNEL CLOUD
05/07/03 TALLADEGA REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
OPERATORS.
0445 PM WEDOWEE AL TORNADO
05/07/03 RANDOLPH TORNADO ON THE GROUND IN
WEDOWEE. REPORTED BY
RANDOLPH COUNTY EMA.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
451 PM CDT WED MAY 07 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0445 PM FULTONDALE AL FLASH FLOOD
05/07/03 JEFFERSON INTERSTATE 65 NORTH SHUT
DOWN. REPORTED BY HAM
RADIO OPERATOR.
0445 PM TRUSSVILLE AL WIND DAMAGE
05/07/03 JEFFERSON CARSON ROAD HAS TREES
DOWN AND MUD SLIDE
COVERING ROAD. REPORTED
BY HAM RADIO OPERATORS.
0445 PM FULTONDALE AL FLASH FLOOD
05/07/03 JEFFERSON HWY 31 SOUTH. SEVERAL
FEET OF WATER COVERED ON
ROADWAY. REPORTED BY HAM
RADIO OPERATORS.The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:01 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous roads across the county were temporarily impassable due to high water. Many remained closed for several hours. Some towns that reported flooding included Broomtown, Gaylesville, Cedar Bluff, and Leesburg.
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: 5360777.