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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 2, 2:36 PM EST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 336 PM EDT WED JUL 2 2003 ...CORRECT EXPIRATION TIME ON FLOOD WATCH... .OVERVIEW...AREA RADARS SHOW DIMINISHING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE EASTERN FLORIDA BIG BEND AND APALACHEE BAY...HOWEVER...TO THE WEST SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE BUILDING ACROSS THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA. SOME STREET AND BUILDING FLOODING WAS REPORTED IN BAY COUNTY EARLIER TODAY. .SHORT TERM...REMNANTS OF TD BILL WILL MOVE OFF THE VIRGINIA TOMORROW AFTERNOON. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL EXTEND SOUTHWEST FROM IT ACROSS OUR AREA. THIS TROUGH AND THE ASSOCIATED BAND OF DEEP LAYER TROPICAL MOISTURE WILL REMAIN OVER PORTIONS OF OUR FORECAST AREA THU RESULTING IN CONTINUING HIGH POPS. WHILE THE MAX RAIN BAND OF 1-2 INCH TOTALS WILL PUSH SLIGHTLY SOUTH AND EAST...RECENT RAINS AND GROUND SATURATION WILL MAKE ANY ADDITIONAL RAIN A POTENTIAL FLOOD THREAT. THUS THE FLOOD WATCH WILL BE MAINTAINED THROUGH THU MORNING. HAVE USED ENSEMBLE POPS...GENERALLY LIKELY ACROSS THE BOARD TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...DECREASING TO CHANCE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. WILL MAKE LITTLE CHANGE IN CURRENT MAX TEMP FORECAST...WHICH UNDERCUTS MOS TEMPS A BIT. OTHERWISE USED A BLEND. .MARINE...WINDS AND SEAS ARE BELOW HIGHLIGHT CRITERIA AND WILL REMAIN SOUTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 KTS THROUGH MOST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. .FIRE WEATHER...NO CONCERNS. .EXTENDED...SUN THROUGH WED. THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY BUILD OVER THE FORECAST AREA...RESULTING IN TEMPS AND POPS RETURNING TO NEAR CLIMATOLOGICAL VALUES. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ARE PLANNED. .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TLH 73 88 73 87 / 60 70 40 60 PFN 74 87 74 88 / 60 70 40 60 DHN 72 88 73 88 / 30 60 30 60 ABY 72 90 72 89 / 40 60 30 60 VLD 72 89 72 90 / 60 70 40 60 CTY 73 85 73 87 / 50 70 40 60 .TLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. GA...NONE. FL...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 5 AM EDT THURSDAY FOR ALL ZONES. 16
GMZ750-755-770-775-ALZ065>069-FLZ007>019-026>029-034-GAZ120>131- 142>148-155>161-031000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 548 AM EDT WED JUL 2 2003 ...A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND EASTERN PANHANDLE AS WELL AS FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA... THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND EASTERN PANHANDLE...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. TROPICAL DEPRESSION BILL OR ITS REMNANTS WILL MOVE FROM THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS THIS MORNING...NORTHEAST TO VIRGINIA TONIGHT. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE...EXTENDING FROM THE CIRCULATION SOUTHWEST INTO THE GULF...WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. BECAUSE SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE PRESENT THROUGH A DEEP LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE...TRAINING OF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS IS EXPECTED AS THEY TRACK REPEATEDLY OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF ADDITIONAL RAIN ARE POSSIBLE TODAY IN MANY AREA. THIS COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING ANYWHERE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA... ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. MOST THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP TODAY ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. HOWEVER...AN ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORM IS STILL A POSSIBILITY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE TORNADO THREAT WILL BE GREATLY DIMINISHED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS IS EXPECTED ON THURSDAY AS THE TROUGH SLIDES ONLY A SMALL DISTANCE TO THE SOUTHEAST. ANOTHER ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE...LIKELY MAINTAINING THE FLOOD THREAT. FROM FRIDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...MORE TYPICAL SUMMER WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO RETURN WITH DAILY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INDUCED BY THE SEA BREEZE. OVER THE COASTAL WATERS...MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AND DISSIPATE IN THE MORNING HOURS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. .RIP CURRENTS... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY ALONG THE EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE BEACHES. WIND...WAVE...AND TIDAL CONDITIONS SUPPORT STRONGER AND MORE FREQUENT RIP CURRENTS TODAY THAN USUAL OVER MAINLY THE SOUTHWEST FACING BEACHES OF THE EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE. THE RISK IS NOT QUITE AS HIGH AS THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS AS BOTH WINDS AND SWELLS HAVE BEGUN TO SUBSIDE IN THE WAKE OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION BILL. NEVERTHELESS...ONLY EXPERIENCED SWIMMERS SHOULD CONSIDER ENTERING THE WATER TODAY. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE VIA OUR WEB SITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TLH/ OR LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TELEVISION OR RADIO STATIONS. 18-WOOL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Two swimmers drowned in rough surf. A dozen swimmers were rescued. Reported by the Bay County EMA.
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, Bay | 2003-07-02 | 55 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Rip Current, Bay | 2003-07-02 | 14 | Female | 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, July 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: 5334603.