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 Jul 22, 7:24 AM EST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 824 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 I WILL MAKE THE MORNING ZONE UPDATE A LITTLE EARLIER THAN USUAL AS POPS WILL BE RAISED TO 50 EVERYWHERE. IT WILL PROBABLY TURN OUT TO BE EVEN MORE IN SOME COUNTIES. LOTS OF ACTIVITY IN THE GULF THIS MORNING...SOME ALREADY MOVING ONSHORE...AS VORT MAX CLEARLY SEEN IN SATELLITE LOOPS DIVES SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE MEAN EASTERN N.A. TROF. MARINE: WINDS AND SEAS LOOK GOOD. I WILL INCREASE COVERAGE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL LEGS AT 1030 AM UPDATE. .TBW...NONE. ALSHEIMER
FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-221400- WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 600 AM EDT TUE JUL 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY: SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE GULF ONSHORE NORTH OF BRADENTON THIS MORNING. WATERSPOUTS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. REMEMBER...WATERSPOUTS CAN FORM FROM A TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUD...NOT JUST A THUNDERSTORM. THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE NEAR LEVY COUNTY AND THE INLAND COUNTIES OF SUMTER...POLK...HIGHLANDS...HARDEE...AND DESOTO. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM ALONG THE GULF COAST SEA BREEZE AS IT MOVES EAST. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING...BRIEF WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...AND NICKEL SIZE HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY: WEDNESDAY WILL HAVE WEATHER SIMILAR TO TODAY WITH ISOLATED MORNING STORMS NEAR THE COAST AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS INLAND DURING THE AFTERNOON. THE PATTERN CHANGES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE MOVES NORTH AND THE LOW LEVEL WINDS TURN FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO THE SOUTHEAST. EXPECT MAINLY SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WATERSPOUTS FROM BRADENTON TO CEDAR KEY. SPOTTERS IN INLAND COUNTIES SHOULD WATCH FOR HAIL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING THIS AFTERNOON. NOAH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike at the Grassy Pointe subdivision produced two minor injuries to plumbers working at a vacant log on Denise Street. They complained about a "tingly feeling" and were checked out by paramedics and released.
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: 5369303.