Hail, Okeechobee
- When
- March 12, 2:50 PM EST
- Where
- Okeechobee County, 4 mi SE of Ft Drum
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.480, -80.767
Hail in Florida, March 12, 2003
3 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
What forecasters said that day
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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 12, 10:10 AM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 10:10 AM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1010 AM EST WED MAR 12 2003 HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AXIS TO OUR NORTH WILL KEEP THE WINDS OUT OF THE EAST TO SOUTHEAST TODAY. AREA SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT THE ATMOSPHERE WAS SLOWLY MOISTENING UP. OFFSHORE WEATHER BUOYS WERE RECORDING 4 TO 5 FOOT SEAS WITH A 7 TO 10 SECOND PERIOD. EASTERLY WINDS SHOULD PUSH ACROSS THE PENINSULA AND INTERACT WITH THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE MAINLY WEST OF OUR AREA THIS AFTERNOON. STEERING WINDS WILL MOVE ANY SHOWERS AND STORMS EASTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH LATE THIS AFTN AND EVENING. CURRENT COASTAL/INLAND POPS OF 20 AND 30 PERCENT RESPECTIVELY LOOKS GOOD. WILL HAVE TO ISSUE AN UPDATE TO REMOVE THE MORNING SHOWERS FOR SAINT LUCIE AND MARTIN COUNTIES. COASTAL WATERS...THE SEAS BEING RECORDED BY THE TWO OFFSHORE WEATHER BUOYS LOOKS TO BE COMPOSED MAINLY OF A 3 TO 4 FOOT SWELL WITH A WIND WAVE OF ABOUT A FOOT. WILL MAKE THIS DISTINCTION IN THE COASTAL WATERS UPDATE. .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE...WIMMER AVIATION/FIRE WX...KELLY
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 12, 5:15 AM EST, 9 hours 35 minutes before
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 121700- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 515 AM EST WED MAR 12 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY: INCREASING MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR LIGHTNING STORMS TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AS SEA AND LAKE BREEZE BOUNDARIES INTERACT. A FEW SHOWERS AND STORMS MAY LINGER INTO THIS EVENING. EAST WINDS AND A SMALL LONG PERIOD SWELL WILL PRODUCE A GREATER THAN NORMAL CHANCE OF RIP CURRENTS AT THE ATLANTIC BEACHES TODAY. CHECK CONDITIONS WITH BEACH PATROLS WHEN ARRIVING AT THE BEACH AND ALWAYS SWIM NEAR A LIFE GUARD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY: A CONTINUED MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS ALONG WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHTNING STORMS AGAIN THURSDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY. GLITTO
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Mar 12, 2:37 PM EST, 13 minutes before
FLZ058-059-122015- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR STRONG WINDS AND SMALL HAIL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 237 PM EST WED MAR 12 2003 ...STRONG STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND SMALL HAIL IN EASTERN OKEECHOBEE COUNTY AND WESTERN ST. LUCIE COUNTY... AT 229 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WINDS AND SMALL HAIL ALONG THE OKEECHOBEE AND ST LUCIE COUNTY LINE...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH. IF THE STORM BECOMES SEVERE...A WARNING WILL BE ISSUED. KELLY
The radar
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:54 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, St. Lucie
- When
- March 12, 2:50 PM EST
- Where
- St. Lucie County, 18 mi W of Ft Pierce
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 27.450, -80.633
Hail, Martin
- When
- March 12, 4:15 PM EST
- Where
- Martin County, Hobe Sound
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
- Coordinates
- 27.067, -80.133
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Washington, March 12 to 13, 2003
- Wildfire and High Wind in Alaska, March 12 to 14, 2003
- Flooding in Montana, March 12 to 13, 2003
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, March 12, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, March 12 to 13, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 2003
- Hail in Missouri, March 12, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, March 12, 2003
- High Wind in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 2003
- Hail in Louisiana, March 12, 2003
- Lightning Strike in Mississippi, March 12, 2003
- Hail in Kansas, March 12, 2003
More
Every storm in Florida in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, March 2003
Sources
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: 5348789, 5348790, 5348864.