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 31, 5:01 AM CST, 4 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL...MESOSCALE UPDATE... 548 AM CDT SUN 31 AUG 2003 PRESSURE GRADIENT ALONG THE ALABAMA COAST INCREASED SLIGHTLY THIS MORNING MOSTLY DUE TO DIURNAL EFFECTS FROM STRONG RIDGE TO THE EAST. WITH THIS HAD TO UPDATE CURRENT MARINE PRODUCT ADDING A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY TO THE AL/FL GULF COASTAL WATERS FROM PNS TO PQL MAINLY FOR THIS MORNING. .MOB ... AL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR GMZ650-670. FL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR GMZ650-670. MS...NONE. /32
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-312000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 520 AM CDT SUN AUG 31 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 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 MODERATE RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DECREASE IN COVERAGE ON MONDAY AS TROPICAL STORM GRACE MOVES INTO TEXAS 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 thirty year old male from Texas drowned while swimming in rough surf east of Casino Beach. He was swimming in an unguarded part of the beach when he disappeared. Life guards said they had to make numerous rescues from the rough surf on Pensacola Beach that weekend.
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 | 2003-08-31 | 30 | 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: 5376898.