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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 11, 3:55 PM CST, 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 455 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003 JUST UPDATED THE ZONES TO REMOVE THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HEADER. 21/MONTANEZ .MOB... AL...NONE. FL...FIRE WX WATCH MON AFTN FLZ001>006-008. MS...NONE.
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-111700- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 628 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INLAND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) A FEW SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION. THE PRIMARY CONCERN WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. A MODERATE RISK OF DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS EXISTS AGAIN TODAY AT THE BEACHES GIVEN PERSISTENT SOUTHERLY WINDS AROUND 15 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY) NO HAZARDOUS OR SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER NETWORKS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES SHOULD STAY TUNED FOR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...IN CASE ACTIVATION BECOMES NECESSARY.
ALZ051>058-MSZ067-075-076-120000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
117 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
WAYNE...PERRY...AND GREENE.
IN SOUTH ALABAMA...
CHOCTAW...WASHINGTON...CLARKE...WILCOX...MONROE...
CONECUH...BUTLER...AND CRENSHAW.
STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.ALZ051>058-MSZ067-075-076-120000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
455 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
WAYNE...PERRY...AND GREENE.
IN SOUTH ALABAMA...
CHOCTAW...WASHINGTON...CLARKE...WILCOX...MONROE...
CONECUH...BUTLER...AND CRENSHAW.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
Three people were swimming along an unguarded beach when they were caught in a rip current. Two of the swimmers were able to make it safely ashore but the third one drowned. The 15 year old males body was not found until two days later.
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, Escambia | 2003-05-11 | 15 | Male | 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, 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: 5358511.