1 funnel cloud, 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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 1, 9:15 AM EST, 3 hours earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 1015 AM EDT THU MAY 1 2003 HEAVY RAIN/HIGH POPS HAS NOT MATERIALIZED AS AVN/ETA/NGM EXPECTED. THE MORE AGGRESSIVE AVN SOLUTION WAS CORRECTLY DISCOUNTED EARLY ON. MID AND UPPER DYNAMICS HAVE NOT BEEN SUFFICIENT TO OVERCOME THE MORE STABLE NIGHTTIME/EARLY AM AIRMASS. LOCAL MESOSCALE ANALYSIS (4KM ADAS) OVER THE STATE OF FL SHOWS A WEAK OPEN WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE OVER SE FL. KMLB DOPPLER RADAR SHOWS STRONGEST CONVECTION OVER THE GULF STREAM MOVING N. COUPLE OF BANDS OF SHOWERS OVER THE INTERIOR AND ALONG THE FL WEST COAST GENERATED BY H5 S/W TROUGH AND UPPER DIV. THIS BAND OF MODERATE RAINS WILL SLOWLY SHIFT EASTWARD NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AS THE TROUGH AXIS PUSHES ACROSS. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS MUCH DRIER AIR AT THE MID LEVELS OVER THE EASTERN GULF AND THIS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA THIS AFTN. BUT LOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN MOIST. BOTH 12Z XMR AND TBW SOUNDINGS SHOW SOUPY AIRMASS WITH 1.8-1.9 PCP WATER. BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED WHICH WILL HELP DESTABILIZE THE ATM AND MAY PRODUCE ANOTHER ROUND OF AFTN CONVECTION. H5 TEMPS HAVE ACTUALLY WARMED TO -8/-9C AND WITH VERY MOIST LOW LEVELS...HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT NOT HAIL. MARINE...WEAK WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE NE ACROSS THE SOUTH LEG TODAY. WEATHER MODELS HAVE BEEN TOO AGGRESSIVE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SFC LOW AND THEREFORE THE WIND FIELDS. THEREFORE WILL REMOVE CAUTION STATEMENT FOR SOUTH LEG BUT WILL KEEP WINDS HIGHER THAN NORTH LEG. .MLB...NONE. PUBLIC/MARINE...KELLY AVIATION/FIRE...CRISTALDI
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 012000- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 540 AM EDT THU MAY 1 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY: ...SCATTERED STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS... A DISTURBANCE IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TODAY. AS THE DISTURBANCE PASSES TO OUR EAST THIS AFTERNOON...STORM CHANCES WILL DECREASE BY EVENING. ISOLATED STORMS TODAY WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS DUE TO DRY AIR MOVING IN FROM THE WEST AT MID LEVELS. REMEMBER... LIGHTNING IS A HAZARD WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU WILL BE OUTSIDE TODAY...MOVE INDOORS AT THE FIRST SIGN OF STORMS APPROACHING YOU. RECENT HEAVY RAIN AND ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TODAY WILL RESULT IN PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS AND LOCALIZED POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. SLOW DOWN IN HEAVY RAIN TO REDUCE THE RISK OF HYDROPLANING. MARINERS IN THE INTRACOASTAL AND OFFSHORE WATERS SHOULD MONITOR CONDITIONS AND SEEK SAFE HARBOR AS STORMS APPROACH FROM THE WEST. STORMS WILL MOVE OFF THE MAINLAND AND ACROSS THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY AT 25 MPH. GUSTY WINDS AND CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY: SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY PRIMARILY ALONG A LATE DEVELOPING EAST COAST SEA BREEZE. MOVEMENT WILL TAKE THE STORMS EASTWARD ACROSS THE COASTLINE AND INTO THE ATLANTIC. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO SELF ACTIVATE IF THEY OBSERVE ANY SEVERE WEATHER OR FLOODING. FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...GO TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. PB
The Melbourne radar (KMLB), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:12 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
The Volusia County Sheriff's office took two calls from the public reporting a funnel cloud near the Daytona Beach International Airport.
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, May 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: 5357412.