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 8, 2:10 AM CST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 310 AM CDT THU MAY 8 2003 BAND OF TSTMS ALONG TAIL END OF SHORT WAVE TROF IS SLOWLY LIFTING NORTHWARD IN RESPONSE TO BACKING UPPER FLOW OVER WESTERN GULF COAST STATES. SIGNIFICANT FLOOD EVENT OCCURRING IN AREAS FROM BIRMINGHAM EASTWARD TO THE GEORGIA STATE LINE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES STILL POSSIBLE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AND FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE FOR THESE AREAS. MESO-ETA HAS BEST HANDLE ON CONVECTION DEVELOPING OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA. MESO-ETA TAKES DEVELOPING MCS EASTWARD INTO NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN TENNESSEE BY LATE MORNING AND THEN INTO TENNESSEE VALLEY OF NORTH ALABAMA DURING THE AFTERNOON. BASED ON THIS TRACK...SPC PROBABLY HAS THE SLIGHT RISK AREA A LITTLE TO FAR NORTH. I WILL MENTION THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE FOR OUR NORTHERN FRINGE COUNTIES. ONCE AGAIN... SOUTHERN HALF OF FORECAST AREA WILL BE LEFT HIGH AND DRY TODAY DUE TO GULF OF MEXICO UPPER RIDGE. EXPANDING RIDGE WILL CAP CONVECTION ACROSS REMAINDER OF ALABAMA FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. GFS STILL ADVERTISING A WEAK SURFACE FRONT TO MOVE INTO ALABAMA ON SUNDAY. FRONT STALLS OUT ALONG COASTAL AREAS AND SIGNIFICANT MID LEVEL DRY SLOT MOVES OVER ALABAMA BY MONDAY MORNING. MAIN CHANGE TO FORECAST WILL BE TO LOWER POPS ON MONDAY. DEEPER MOISTURE SHOULD SPREAD BACK INTO AREA FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. BHM 86 72 89 71 89/ 30 5 10 5 10 MGM 91 72 91 71 91/ 10 5 10 5 5 .BHM...NONE.
ALZ011>015-017>050-081345- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 741 AM CDT THU MAY 8 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE (TODAY AND TONIGHT)... WIDESPREAD...SIGNIFICANT RIVER FLOODING IS EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. SEE FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR EXACT CREST LEVELS AND LOCATIONS. ISOLATED STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME NORTHERN COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... A FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA SUNDAY. SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL NOT BE NECESSARY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Black Warrior River at the Selden Lock and Dam was above flood stage of 90 feet during this time period. The highest crest reported was 96.67 feet on May 11 at 6 pm CDT.
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: 5360769.