Lightning sparked numerous fire across Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties. The fires grew rapidly in the dry, windy conditions.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 episode as NWS EKA wrote it up.
Lightning sparked numerous fire across Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties. The fires grew rapidly in the dry, windy conditions. Over 50 total fires were ignited. By September 30, approximately 26,000 acres were burned. The largest fire was the Honeydew/Canoe Complex near Weott with 22,000 acres burned at the end of the month. The Loma Fire burned 3740 acres and was contained on September 22. The Covelo Complex near Covelo burned 240 acres and was contained on September 12. At the end of September, only the Honeydew/Canoe Complex was not yet fully contained.
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 Eureka, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 3, 4:30 AM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 530 AM PDT WED SEP 03 2003 MAIN CONCERN IS THUNDERSTORMS MOVING UP FROM THE SOUTH. ONE THUNDERSTORM CELL IS ABOUT 80 MILES OFF THE MENDOCINO COAST AND IS PARALLELING THE COAST AS IT MOVES NORTH. MORE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE BAY AREA AND THEIR TRAJECTORY WOULD TAKE THEM INTO LAKE COUNTY AND JUST SKIRT EAST OF MENDOCINO COUNTY. MESOETA SEEMS TO HAVE BETTER HANDLE ON INSTABILITY THAN GFS AT IT BRINGS HIGHEST CAPES UP ACROSS MENDOCINO COUNTY TODAY AND THEN INTO HUMBOLDT AND TRINITY COUNTY LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. DYNAMICS ARE NOT IMPRESSIVE BUT WILL STILL HAVE SURFACE TEMPERATURES NEAR 100 AT TEMPS AND AT 500MB ARE ABOUT -10 C SO LAPSE RATES ARE STEEP. DYNAMICS ARE SLIGHTLY BETTER ON THURSDAY AS WHATS LEFT OF LOW NEAR 37N 129W MOVES OVER AREA. BIGGEST PROBLEM IS HOW MUCH RAIN THERE WILL BE INITIALLY WITH THUNDERSTORMS. DEWPOINTS ARE COMING UP SOMEWHAT BUT THEY ARE STILL IN THE UPPER 20S AND 30S. WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY RED FLAG PRODUCTS UNTIL COORDINATED WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES. OTHER MINOR CONCERN TODAY IS THE SOUTHERLY SURGE WHICH HAS PRODUCED DENSE FOG NEAR THE COAST. THIS IS VERY SHALLOW AND SHOULD DISSIPATE THIS MORNING. BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION ON FRIDAY AS THE RIDGE SHIFTS EAST. UNUSUAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR BUT PROGS CONSISTENT IN BRINGING A FULL LATITUDE TROUGH THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT PRECEDED BY ASSOCIATED FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT. SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS BUT NO THUNDERSTORMS. ANOTHER FRONT COMES THROUGH ON TUESDAY CONTINUING THE THREAT OF SHOWERS. BRIEF OFFSHORE FLOW ON THURSDAY BUT NOT AS STRONG AS YESTERDAYS GFS SHOWED. NEW RUNS TAKES ANOTHER TROUGH THROUGH PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON FRIDAY AND DRAGS SOME HIGHER RH VALUES ALONG THE OR-CA BORDER. DEAN .EKA...NONE
CAZ001-003-004-076-041230- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 530 AM PDT WED SEP 3 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA .DAY ONE...TODAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE TODAY OF THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING UP FROM THE SOUTH TODAY. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...AND SOME SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. FOR THURSDAY...SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER EASTERN HUMBOLDT AND TRINITY COUNTIES. FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...RAIN SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE STARTING LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA. THE ASSOCIATED TROUGH WILL PASS LATE SUNDAY NIGHT CONTINUING THE THREAT OF SHOWERS WITH YET ANOTHER WEAK FRONT CROSSING EXTREME NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA ON TUESDAY. .INSTRUCTIONS TO SPOTTERS... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT (LOWER CASE): HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/EUREKA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Honeydew/Canoe Complex
Covelo Complex
Loma Fire
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, September 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: 5336863, 5336864, 5336865.