1 rip current, 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 30, 3:03 AM CST, 9 hours 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
355 AM CDT SAT 30 AUG 2003
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO HAS BEEN SLOWER
AND FURTHER WEST THAN WHAT THE ETA/GFS PACKAGES HAVE ALLUDED TO
FOR THE PAST THREE DAYS. FOR TODAY...WITH PW VALUES STILL UP IN
EXCESS OF 2 INCHES...ADEQUATE INSTABILITY AND THE USUAL DIURNALLY
DRIVEN FOCUSING MECHANISMS...WE WILL KEEP LIKELY POPS GOING ALL
ZONES. WE WENT A BIT WARMER THAN BOTH MOS GUIDANCES FOR MOST
LOCATIONS GIVEN THE OBSERVATIONAL TRENDS HAVE BEEN WARMER. WE SEE NO
REAL CHANGE TODAY.
A ROUGH SUBJECTIVE SATELLITE ANALYSIS THIS MORNING DOES SHOW SOME
SORT OF BROAD ROTATION OVER THE CENTRAL GULF OFF THE NORTHWEST PART
OF THE YUCATAN...BUT THERE IS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF DEEP CONVECTION
ASSOCIATED WITH IT...AND THE SURFACE OBSERVATIONS DONT REVEAL A WHOLE
LOT EITHER. DEVELOPMENT...IF ANY...SHOULD BE WEST FURTHER AWAY FROM
OUR FORECAST AREA. THE FURTHER WEST WE TAKE THE TRACK OF THE LOW...
THE FURTHER WEST THE DRYING ALOFT TO THE EAST WORKS IN FOR SUNDAY
AND MONDAY. FOR SEVERAL RUNS THE GFS AND ETA HAVE ADVERTISED
INCREASED SUBSIDENCE...DRYING...AND LOWER POPS BY MONDAY. WE WILL
RELENT AND BACK DOWN THE POPS SUNDAY AND MONDAY...ESPECIALLY TO THE
EAST AND NORTHEAST. WITH LESS CONVECTION AND CLOUDCOVER...THIS WILL
RESULT IN SOMEWHAT WARMER AFTERNOON TEMPS SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
GRADIENT STILL MAINTAINING 15 TO 20 KT SYNOPTIC SCALE WINDS OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS...WITH 5 TO 7 FT SEAS CURRENTLY BEING REPORTED.
EVEN THOUGH WE ARE IN A NEAP ASTRONOMICAL TIDES...THE PERSISTENT
STRONGER SOUTHEASTERLY FETCH WILL KEEP TIDES RUNNING SOME 1 TO 2 FEET
ABOVE NORMAL. THIS WARRANTS AT LEAST KEEPING THE COASTAL FLOOD WATCH
UP. SEE NO EVIDENCE ATTM TO SUPPORT A COASTAL FLOOD WARNING RIGHT
NOW. EVEN THOUGH DEVELOPMENT OVER THE GULF (SHOULD IT OCCUR) LOOKS
TO BE FURTHER WEST...GRADIENT WILL PROBABLY TIGHTEN UP A LITTLE
MORE OVER THE NEXT 12 HOURS...RELAXING SOMEWHAT BY SUNDAY. THIS
PATTERN SUPPORTS THE CONTINUATION OF SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES FOR
TODAY. OVERALL...WE REALLY DONT PLAN ON ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO
WHAT WE HAVE OUT IN THE MARINE FORECAST RIGHT NOW.
.PRELIMINARY TEMPS / POPS...
MOBILE 90 74 90 74 / 70 30 40 20
PENSACOLA 89 76 89 76 / 60 30 40 20
DESTIN 88 77 88 77 / 60 30 40 20
EVERGREEN 90 72 92 70 / 60 30 30 20
WAYNESBORO 90 73 92 72 / 70 30 30 20
CAMDEN 90 71 92 70 / 60 30 30 20
.MOB ...
AL...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT ALZ063-064-GMZ630-650
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT GMZ630-650-670.
FL...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FLZ002-004-006-GMZ655
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT GMZ655-675.
MS...NONE.
05/GARMONALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-302000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 500 AM CDT SAT AUG 30 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...INTERIOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE COASTAL WATERS AND MOVE INLAND THROUGHOUT MOST OF TODAY. WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING... AND PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS. ISOLATED WATERSPOUTS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. STRONG SOUTHEASTERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE WAY TO DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS THROUGH TONIGHT. AS A RESULT A HIGH RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY) ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DECREASE IN COVERAGE ON SUNDAY AS THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES INTO THE WESTERN GULF STRONG GUSTY WINDS UP TO 30 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO LIGHTNING AND PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT EXPECTED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A forty-six year old male from Tennessee disappeared while swimming in rough surf. His body did not wash ashore until the next day. The male was swimming in rough surf in an unguarded area east of Casino Beach.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Escambia | 2003-08-30 | 46 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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: 5376897.