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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 1:54 PM EST, 36 minutes earlier.
SOUTH FLORIDA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI 254 PM EDT TUE AUG 05 2003 LONGWAVE PATTERN OVER THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES RATHER MONOTONOUS WITH BROAD UPPER RIDGE OVER WEST AND TROUGH IN THE EAST. SURFACE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA FROM SUBTROPICAL RIDGE OVER THE ATLANTIC. SEABREEZE ALREADY RATHER ACTIVE THIS AFTERNOON. SOUTH/SOUTHWEST MEAN STEERING FLOW WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR INTERIOR AND EAST COAST CONVECTION. THE SAME CONTINUES THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS DRY AIR ALOFT OVER MUCH OF THE TROPICAL ATLANTIC. THIS SHOULD INFILTRATE SOUTH FLORIDA...ONLY REDUCING THE COVERAGE/INTENSITY OF CONVECTION EVER SO SLIGHTLY. WEAK TROPICAL WAVE APPROACHING THE LESSER ANTILLES PROGGED TO BE SOMEWHERE OVER THE BAHAMAS BY THE WEEKEND. DEEP UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EAST COAST AND ASSOCIATED SOUTHWEST FLOW ACROSS FLORIDA SHOULD MEAN THAT EFFECTS OF THE WAVE ON SOUTH FLORIDA SHOULD BE MINIMAL. MODELS ONLY INDICATE SOME INCREASE IN MOISTURE OVER OUR FORECAST AREA. .MARINE...WINDS REMAIN LIGHT OUT OF THE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST OVER THE LOCAL COASTAL WATERS THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. .FIRE WEATHER...NO PROBLEMS. .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PBI BB 076/090 076/091 077 24242 FLL BB 078/090 078/091 080 24232 MIA BB 078/090 078/092 079 24242 APF BB 075/089 075/088 077 24232 .MIA...NONE. HANDEL
FLZ063-066>075-051600- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 500 AM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS ALL OF SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY. FREQUENT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES, AND WIND GUSTS TO 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THE HEAVIER STORMS. IN ADDITION, VERY LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINS ARE POSSIBLE, AS THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVERS. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
FLZ072-051845- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 144 PM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN BROWARD COUNTY... AT 143 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER EASTERN BROWARD COUNTY. A SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER REPORTED TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS WITHIN THIS STORM BETWEEN POMPANO BEACH AND LIGHTHOUSE POINT. RADAR INDICATED THE STORM WAS MOVING SLOWLY SOUTH. THIS MOTION WILL BRING THE THUNDERSTORM ACROSS POMPANO BEACH...OAKLAND PARK...WILTON MANORS AND FORT LAUDERDALE. FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES...VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND BRIEF WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED AS THIS STORM PASSES. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH...THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO MOVE INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.
The Miami radar (KAMX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:31 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike split the main rotor of a television news helicopter while it was parked on the ground at North Perry Airport.
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: 5334954.