Florida, 2003

Flood in Florida, August 21 to 31, 2003

August 21 to 31, 2003 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What forecasters said that day

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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 21, 9:03 AM EST, 4 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 9:03 AM EST, 4 hours 42 minutes before
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
1003 AM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

.DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR AND RUC INDICATING UPPER LOW CONTINUES
OF THE MID GULF AS MSAS SHOWS A SLOWLY FORMING LOW/TROUGH OVER
THE NORTHEASTERN GULF. WITH FAIRLY DEEP SOUTHERLY FLOW TAPPING
SOME HIGHER MOISTURE TO THE SOUTH LIKELY POPS THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING
LOOK GOOD CWFA WIDE. HOWEVER WILL UPDATE PUBLIC ZONES TO MAKE SKIES
BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY AND CLEAN UP WORDING FOR SHOWERS/TSTMS.

.MARINE...RAOB/VAD/BUOY SUPPORT CURRENT FORECAST AND WILL ISSUE
AROUND 1030 WITH OUT CHANGE.

.TBW...NONE.

RKR
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 21, 5:00 AM EST, 8 hours 45 minutes before
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-211400-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
600 AM EDT THU AUG 21 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

VERY DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE IS IN PLACE FOR TODAY. SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP BY LATE MORNING AND BECOME NUMEROUS BY
AFTERNOON. THESE SHOWERS WILL MOVE TOWARDS THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AT
ABOUT 10 MPH TODAY...DROPPING HEAVY RAINFALL IN SOME LOCATIONS. THE
WESTERN COUNTIES WILL BE THE FAVORED LOCATIONS TODAY AS A WEAK WEST
COAST SEA BREEZE WONT MAKE MUCH PROGRESS INLAND. THE TROPICAL
AIRMASS WILL MEAN LIGHTNING ACTIVITY WILL BE A BIT BELOW NORMAL...
HOWEVER STRONGER STORMS WILL STILL HAVE DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING. THE MAIN THREAT TODAY WILL BE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM
FLOODING AS AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LINGER INTO THE
EVENING BEFORE ENDING AS A PERIOD OF STEADY RAIN. MOTORISTS SHOULD
BE ALERT FOR VISIBILITIES FREQUENTLY BELOW A MILE IN HEAVY RAINS AND
PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS THIS AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY:

ONE MORE DAY OF ABOVE NORMAL SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE ON
FRIDAY THEN A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN FROM THE EAST
AND BRING A MORE TYPICAL LATE SUMMER PATTERN TO THE REGION. A
TROPICAL WAVE IS FORECAST TO PASS SOUTH OF THE REGION ON TUESDAY...
INCREASING THE CHANCES FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS.

SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY...

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Hillsborough

When
August 21, 1:45 PM EST to August 31, 3:42 PM EST
Where
Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

The Little Manatee River near Wimauma crested at 15.18 feet at 12:15 AM EST on the 27th. Flood stage is 11 feet. Doppler radar detected a small area of 3 to 5 inches of rain over the head waters of the Little Manatee River from August 19th through the 20th. No significant damage was reported as these areas have been in and out of flood since June and the damage had already occurred.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 2003

Sources

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: 5368341.