2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 18, 2:05 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 205 PM EST TUE MAR 18 2003 CURRENTLY...AREA OF SHOWERS APPROACHING OSCEOLA/OKEECHOBEE COUNTY ASSOCIATED WITH SOME DEEPER MOISTURE AND WEAK H7 VORT PROGD TO LIFT NE. 12Z ETA/GFS RUNS SEEM TO FINALLY HAVE A BIT BETTER HANDLE ON THIS FEATURE AND WILL LIKELY INCLUDE SLGT POP FOR EVENING ACROSS CNTRL/SRN SECTIONS AS IT MOVES EAST ACROSS THE PENINSULA. WED/THU...UPR CLOSED LOW ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL LIFT SLOWLY NORTHEAST WITH UPPER RIDGE AXIS BUILDING ACROSS THE STATE ON WED AND EAST OF THE STATE ON THU. WARMEST TEMPS WILL CONTINUE TO BE INLAND WITH SE (ONSHORE) FLOW DEVELOPING ACROSS THE COASTAL COUNTIES. RECORDS FOR ORLANDO INTL (MCO) INCLUDE 91 ON THE 19TH AND 90 ON THE 20TH...AND HIGHS SHOULD COME CLOSE TO THESE RECORDS...BUT MAY BE A FEW DEGS SHORT. MAIN FCST CONCERN IS PROSPECTS FOR CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WED-THU AFTNS. MAIN FCST DIFFERENCE FOR WED IS ETA SHOWS DEEPER MOISTURE (UP TO H7) WITH MORE DEFINED SEA BRZ COLLISION LATE ACROSS THE INTERIOR...THAN DRIER NGM...AND DRIEST GFS. ALL THREE MODELS DO GENERATE SOME QPF ACROSS THE INTERIOR SO AM LEANING TWD GOING WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE LATE ACROSS INTERIOR SECTIONS WHERE SEA BRZ CONVERGENCE MAY BE ENOUGH TO INITIATE A FEW LATE AFTN SHOWERS AND STORMS. PLAN ON ALSO CUTTING CSTL TEMPS A TAD WITH 12Z RUNS LATCHING ON TO ONSHORE FLOW EARLIER IN THE DAY. WED NGT...WILL KEEP 10 PCT POP IN FOR EVENING ACTIVITY ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND LATE NIGHT SHOWER ACTIVITY ALONG THE BEACHES BUT NOT INCLUDE MENTION IN ZFP AT THIS TIME. ON THU...WITH SOME INCREASE IN MOISTURE LEVELS AND SE/S FLOW INTERIOR SHOULD AGAIN BE FAVORED IN THE AFTERNOON WITH MORNING ACTIVITY NEAR THE EAST COAST. WILL GO WITH 30 PCT. HIGHS SIMILIAR TO WED ALONG THE COAST AND A FEW DEGS COOLER FOR THE INTERIOR. FRI-TUE...NEXT FRONT WILL APPROACH FRIDAY AND FRI NGT WITH SCT POPS. WILL KEEP LOW CHANCE ACROSS SOUTHERN SECTIONS ON SAT AND THEN DRY FOR SUN. ANOTHER QUICK MOVING SYSTEM PROGD TO BEING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS/STORMS ON MON AND THEN WILL DRY THINGS OUT AGAIN FOR DAY 7. MARINE...WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM THE SE TO 15 KNOTS WED AFN AND PICK UP TO 15-20 KNOTS LATE WED NGT. WILL KEEP WINDS 15-20 KNOTS ACROSS THE NRN LEG ON THU AFTN 15 KNOTS ACROSS THE SRN LEG. WINDS WILL BECOME S-SW AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND THEN NW BEHIND THE FRONT ON SUNDAY. PRELIM... DAB BB 065/084 070/084 070 15111 MCO BB 067/090 070/088 070 15121 MLB BB 069/085 073/085 072 15211= .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE WX...VOLKMER AVIATION/FIRE WX...SHARP
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 182200- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1045 AM EST TUE MAR 18 2003 .DAY ONE... A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL LIMIT SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS ALONG THE COAST FROM MELBOURNE SOUTH TO STUART. SCATTERED STRONG STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE COASTAL COUNTIES FROM SOUTHERN BREVARD TO MARTIN COUNTY DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE WILL ALSO MOVE TOWARD SOUTHERN INTERIOR SECTIONS NORTH OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE WHERE SOME ISOLATED STORMS MAY DEVELOP. THE MAIN HAZARDS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS TO AROUND 45 MPH AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES. A FEW STORMS MAY ALSO CONTAIN SMALL HAIL. HEAD INDOORS IF STORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA. AT AREA BEACHES...A GREATER THAN NORMAL THREAT FOR RIP CURRENTS WILL OCCUR AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO A PERSISTENT 3 FOOT NORTHEAST SWELL. RIP CURRENTS ARE NORMALLY MOST DANGEROUS DURING THE TIME OF OUTGOING TIDE...AND NEAR PIERS AND JETTIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO APPROACH THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEK AND BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SKYWARN STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY. VOLKMER
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:15 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a few trees and power lines in Fort Pierce.
Thunderstorm winds damaged a carport, fence and metal shed, and blew down large tree limbs near Stuart.
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, March 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: 5349217, 5349218.