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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 7, 8:26 AM EST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
926 AM EDT THU AUG 7 2003
ABUNDANT TROPICAL MOISTURE (PWS 2) NOTED ON 12Z RAOB DATA EARLY
THIS MORNING. THIS MOISTURE ALONG WITH DEEP SWLY WIND FLOW...SHORT
WAVE ENERGY MOVING INTO THE BASE OF THE EASTERN U.S. UPPER TROUGH AND
INCREASING DIFLUENCE ALOFT FROM FAVORABLE UPPER JET POSITION WILL
SUPPORT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS/STORMS ACROSS THE FA THE
REMAINDER OF THE DAY. 88D TRENDS CONFIRM THIS AND NOW SHOW A LARGE
AND EXPANDING AREA OF CONVECTION ALREADY MOVING ONSHORE AND AFFECTING
MY COASTAL COUNTIES WITH ADDITIONAL AREAS DEVELOPING FURTHER TO THE
WEST. GIVEN THESE TRENDS WILL KEEP THE FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM
PASCO NORTH.
ZONES ARE ON TARGET FOR THE MOST PART...HOWEVER BASED ON 88D PRECIP
ESTIMATES ALREADY SHOWING SOME 2 TO 2.5 IN SOME LOCATIONS...WILL
ADD LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WORDING TO MY CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ZONES.
MAX TEMPERATURES WILL BE TRICKY THIS AFTERNOON. WITH INCREASING
CLOUDS AND PRECIP I MAY NEED TO LOWER TEMPS IN SOME LOCATIONS. FOR
NOW WILL MONITOR TRENDS A WHILE LONGER...AND IF NEEDED WILL MAKE LAST
MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS IF NEEDED.
MARINE...C-MAN AND OFFSHORE BUOYS NOW SHOWING SOUTHWEST WINDS 10
KNOTS WITH SEAS 2 FEET. 06Z GFS SHOWS WINDS INCREASING TOWARD SCEC
RANGE BY THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY NORTHERN MOST LEGS. HOWEVER
SEEING THAT THE GFS SFC LOW DEPICTION TO THE NORTH LOOKS A BIT
OVERDONE WHEN COMPARING IT TO THE 12Z SFC ANALYSIS...WILL LEAVE
ONGOING WIND/SEA FORECAST AS IS FOR NOW WITH NO CHANGES EXPECTED.
.TBW...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH FRIDAY FOR LEVY...CITRUS...SUMTER
HERNANDO...AND PASCO COUNTIES.
JCMFLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-071500- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL FL 557 AM EDT THU AUG 7 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT: ...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS MAY PRODUCE OVERLAND FLOODING ACROSS THE NATURE COAST... FOR THE COASTAL COUNTIES: SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND MOVE INLAND ACROSS THE SUNCOAST THROUGH LUNCHTIME. THE MOST CONCENTRATED AREA WILL BE NORTH OF TAMPA BAY...WHERE RAINFALL WILL RANGE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES...WITH SOME AREAS RECEIVING 4 INCHES OR MORE. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD TAPER OFF LATER THIS AFTERNOON. IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY RAINS AND POSSIBLE OVERLAND FLOODING... RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. A FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES TODAY NORTH OF TAMPA BAY...FROM PASCO TO LEVY COUNTY. FOR THE INTERIOR COUNTIES: SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OR MOVE IN BETWEEN 9 AM AND NOON. COVERAGE WILL INCREASE DURING THE AFTERNOON...AND SOME STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG...WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS THE PRIMARY THREAT. ALL CELLS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY TORRENTIAL RAINS...AND AREAS WHICH RECEIVE REPEATING STORMS MAY SEE URBAN AND POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY: ...FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FRIDAY NORTH OF TAMPA BAY... ...HEAVY RAIN BANDS MAY AFFECT METROPOLITAN AREAS FARTHER SOUTH... ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE PRE DAWN HOURS JUST OFF THE SUNCOAST...AND BECOME NUMEROUS AROUND DAYBREAK WHILE MOVING INLAND. CURRENT DATA SUGGEST THE HEAVIEST RAINS WILL EXTEND FROM CITRUS TO SARASOTA COUNTY...AND INCLUDE BOTH THE TAMPA BAY AND SARASOTA BRADENTON METROPOLITAN REGIONS. SIMILAR TO THURSDAY...THE PRECIPITATION WILL AFFECT THE COASTAL COUNTIES THROUGH MID AFTERNOON...AND CONTINUE OVER INTERIOR WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN IS LIKELY...LOCALLY 4 INCHES OR MORE IN AREAS WHICH RECEIVE REPEATING STORMS. ON SATURDAY...MORE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED FROM SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...AGAIN FAVORING THE MORNING THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS NEAR THE COAST...MID TO LATE AFTERNOON FARTHER INLAND. HOWEVER...THE ENERGY DRIVING THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS EVENT IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN...HENCE SATURDAYS EVENT TOTALS SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT LESS. MORE TYPICAL SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING STORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FROM TAMPA BAY NORTH TODAY AND FRIDAY...PRIMARILY FOR RAINFALL AND LOCAL OVERLAND OR RIVER FLOOD REPORTS. BSG
FLZ048>051-055-060-071130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL FL 604 AM EDT THU AUG 7 2003 ...A WET COMMUTE FOR TAMPA BAY...SARASOTA...AND BRADENTON... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INCREASE IN COVERAGE THROUGH DAYBREAK...AND GRADUALLY PROGRESS THROUGH THE COASTAL COUNTIES FROM HERNANDO TO SARASOTA UNTIL 9 AM. STRONGER CELLS WILL CONTAIN DOWNPOURS WHICH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY BELOW 1 MILE...AND COULD PRODUCE MINOR FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. OCCASIONAL CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO OCCUR. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING VISIBILITY AND ROAD CONDITIONS THIS MORNING. && STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. BSG
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:01 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a utility pole next to Miles Elementary School and injured a 41 year old male 75 yards away. The victim appeared to be in shock and complained of numbness to his left arm and hand.
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: 5368342.