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 Las Vegas, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 26, 2:20 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 320 PM PDT TUE AUG 26 2003 .SYNOPSIS...THERE WILL BE A GRADUALLY DECREASE IN MONSOON MOISTURE ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. HOWEVER...ENOUGH MOISTURE WILL LINGER FOR CONTINUED THREAT OF AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. && .SHORT TERM...ALL THE ACTION SOUTH OF SOUTHERN NEVADA RIGHT NOW...THIS AREA SAW THE MOST SUN TO HEAT THE SURFACE THIS MORNING. EFFECTS FROM SHORTWAVE TO OUR NORTH DIMINISHING AS CLOUD SHIELD/SHOWERS LIFT OFF TO THE NORTH. WILL KEEP FLASH FLOOD WATCH UP FOR AREAS TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF LAS VEGAS. THIS AREA ALSO COVERED BY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 700 PM. MODELS SIMILAR SHOWING A GRADUALLY DRYING TREND IN THE MID LEVEL AS FLOW ALOFT BECOMES WESTERLY. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE NOT GOING ANYWHERE FAST SO WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE POPS WED-FRI. MODELS DO SHOW SOME WEAK PERTURBATIONS IN WESTERLY FLOW AND OCCASIONAL SPEED MAXIMUMS THAT MAY HELP ORGANIZE STORMS. && .LONG TERM...MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW RESIDUAL MOISTURE TO REMAIN OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA THROUGH MUCH OF THE EXTENDED. HIGH PRESSURE SITUATED NEAR AZ/NM BORDER WILL HELP TO CONTINUE THE SOUTHERLY FLOW IN THE AREA. HAVE GONE AHEAD AND KEPT MENTION OF MAINLY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AND GONE AHEAD AND ADDED THUNDERSTORMS FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY ALSO. && .LAS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 700 PM PDT. FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 900 PM PDT FOR POTIONS OF FORECAST AREA. PLEASE SEE LATEST STATEMENT FOR DETAILS. && PIERCE
AZZ001>003-036-CAZ026>029-NVZ013>022-271200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV 220 PM PDT TUE AUG 26 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA/SOUTHERN NEVADA/NORTHWEST ARIZONA .DAY ONE...TODAY. ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 700 PM PDT FOR SOUTHERN MOHAVE AND EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO... ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 900 PM PDT FOR SOUTHERN MOHAVE ...EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY AND FAR SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTIES... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MOHAVE AND EASTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR WILL MOVE OVER THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY FOR A DECREASE IN THUNDERSTORMS...HOWEVER LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY STILL ACCOMPANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHEAST PORTION. BY THURSDAY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CONFINED TO MAINLY NORTHWEST ARIZONA WHICH SHOULD SEE AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS INTO SATURDAY. SUNDAY AND MONDAY SHOULD BE DRY ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A flash flood from a stationary thunderstorm just south of Twentynine Palms swept a car off the road killing two people inside the car and a good Samaritan who tried to rescue them.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, San Bernardino | 2003-08-26 | 36 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, San Bernardino | 2003-08-26 | 29 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, San Bernardino | 2003-08-26 | 38 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in California, August 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: 5377476.