1 lightning, 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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 1:30 PM CST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 230 PM CDT SAT AUG 16 2003 .SHORT TERM...UPPER IMPULSE CONTINUES TO DIVE SOUTHWARD ALONG THE EASTERN PERIPHERY OF A LARGE UPPER RIDGE TO OUR NORTHWEST. THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LINE OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL PORTIONS OF ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON... DROPPING SOUTH. WILL MAINTAIN THE SCATTERED POPS FOR EASTERN AND COASTAL SECTIONS TONIGHT AS THIS AFTERNOONS CONVECTION TRACKS TOWARD THE COAST...AND MODELS STILL SHOW THE IMPULSE DIVING SOUTH INTO SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AREA BY AROUND 12Z SUNDAY. STILL THINK TONIGHTS ACTIVITY COULD LEAVE US STABLE AND MOSTLY CLOUDY STARTING OUT ON SUNDAY...BUT A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH STALLED OVER THE AREA DURING DAYTIME HEATING...AND LINGERING EFFECTS OF AFOREMENTIONED UPPER IMPULSE OVER FLORIDA PANHANDLE...WILL WARRANT STAYING WITH THE CURRENT 40% COVERAGE ON SUNDAY. WILL CONTINUE THE TREND OF SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON CONVECTION THROUGH TUESDAY. GUIDANCE TEMPS ARE CLOSE AND LOOK REASONABLE...AND WONT STRAY FAR FROM CURRENT NUMBERS. .EXTENDED...GFS/MRF SHOWS ONLY MINOR CHANGES INTO THE LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK. AGREE WITH PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IN NEED TO INTRODUCE AT LEAST SCATTERED POPS EACH DAY THROUGH THE EXTENDED...ADJUSTED POPS UP TO LOW END CHANCE...ACCORDINGLY. OTHERWISE...NO CHANGES TO EXTENDED. CONTINUES TO SHOW THE SURFACE TROUGH OVER THE AREA TUESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY WHILE CONTINUED IMPULSES RIDE DOWN FROM THE NORTH AS AN UPPER TROF REMAINS ANCHORED OVER THE NE. SUSPECT WILL NEED AT LEAST SCATTERED POPS EACH DAY THRU THE EXTENDED...BUT WILL LET DAYTIME FINE TUNE THAT LATER TODAY. .MARINE...TONIGHT INTO THE UPCOMING WEEK...A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH WILL SETTLE OVER...OR JUST NORTH OF THE COASTAL AREA...BRINGING GENERALLY LIGHT WESTERLY TO SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS TO THE MARINE AREA. EXPECT SEAS TO REMAIN 2 FEET OR LESS...EXCEPT IN VICINITY OF ANY SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...INTO THE UPCOMING WEEK. .FIRE...NO CONCERNS. .PRELIMINARY TEMPS / POPS... MOBILE 75 91 75 92 / 30 40 20 40 PENSACOLA 76 90 76 93 / 30 40 20 40 DESTIN 77 89 78 90 / 30 40 20 40 EVERGREEN 72 91 72 92 / 30 40 20 40 WAYNESBORO 73 93 73 93 / 20 40 20 40 CAMDEN 72 91 72 93 / 20 40 20 40 .MOB... AL...NONE. FL...NONE. MS...NONE. 12/SHEPHERD
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-161900- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 530 AM CDT SAT AUG 16 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...INTERIOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM THIS AFTERNOON...WITH A FEW STORMS POSSIBLY BECOMING STRONG...AND CONTAIN WINDS GUSTING TO 45 MPH...ALONG WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL. NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE OR HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT...THOUGH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY) NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE OR HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.
ALZ064-162030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 254 PM CDT SAT AUG 16 2003 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IS BEING DETECTED OVER BALDWIN COUNTY... AT 254 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER SILVERHILL...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 15 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND AROUND... CLAY CITY...LOXLEY...MALBIS...DAPHNE AND MONTROSE THROUGH 330 PM CDT. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THIS STORM ARE STRONG WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH...SMALL HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAIN. ALTHOUGH BELOW SEVERE LIMITS...THIS STORM COULD DOWN SMALL TREE LIMBS OR BRANCHES AND BLOW AROUND UNSECURED SMALL OBJECTS. FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES ARE LIKELY...AND PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN COULD RESULT IN BRIEF PONDING OF WATER AROUND LOW LYING...FLOOD PRONE AREAS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a house and started a fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department but not before the house suffered damage. No one was injured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, 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: 5376901.