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 9, 1:24 PM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 144 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2003 CURRENT SOUNDINGS OVER THE AREA SHOW A STRONG 600-850 MB CAP WHICH PROMISES TO BE EFFECTIVE AGAINST CONVECTION THROUGH SATURDAY. MEANWHILE...THAT BIG HIGH OVER THE SOUTHEAST CONTINUES TO INDICATE FLATTENING THROUGH WEEKEND AS A SURFACE LOW MOVES VIGOROUSLY FROM PLAINS INTO SRN ON AND QB. THIS BRINGS A WEAK FRONT INTO THE CWA LATE SUNDAY...XPCTD TO BECOME QSTNRY OVER THE NORTHERN GULF ON MONDAY. THE DEEP RIDGE AXIS OVER THE NORTHERN GULF WILL BE SHIFTING SOUTHWARD AS THE STRONG MID LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE NORTHERN STATES. THE MID LEVEL CAP IS PROGGED TO WEAKEN AND SEEMS TO SUPPORT INCRG FORMERLY SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS FOR SUNDAY AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. .EXTENDED...THE WEAK FRONT IS FCST TO REMAIN STALLED NEAR THE BEACH THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THEN AS A MID LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES INTO THE ATLANTIC THURSDAY...THE FRONT WOULD LIFT NORTHWARD AND SUPPORT AT A LEAST CHANCE POPS AS IN CURRENT PACKAGE. MARINE...NEW MODEL RUNS BUMPED IT UP A BIT FOR A MODERATE SOUTHERLY FLOW CONTINUING UNTIL THE APPROACHING WEAK FRONT STALLS AS EXPECTED OVER THE NORTHERN GULF ON MONDAY. 3 TO 5 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT...4 TO 6 FEET TOMORROW...THEN SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 SUNDAY. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WIND MONDAY AND TUESDAY. LITTLE CHANGE IN SEAS. FIRE...NO CONCERNS WITH AFTERNOON HUMIDITY OR DISPERSION. 77/ .PRELIMINARY TEMPS / POPS... MOBILE 74 89 73 89 / 00 00 00 20 PENSACOLA 75 86 74 87 / 00 00 00 20 DESTIN 75 85 75 86 / 00 00 00 20 EVERGREEN 73 91 72 88 / 00 00 00 20 WAYNESBORO 72 91 72 87 / 00 00 00 20 CAMDEN 72 91 72 86 / 00 00 00 20 .MOB... AL...NONE. FL...NONE. MS...NONE.
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-092100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 1030 AM CDT FRI MAY 9 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR INLAND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI... SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE. .DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT) NO SEVERE OR HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...MODERATE RISK OF DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS IS EXPECTED AS WIND INCREASES TO AROUND 20 MPH AND GUSTY ALONG THE BEACH THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SEAS OFFSHORE 3 TO 5 FEET WILL PROPAGATE INTO THE BEACH BRINGING ROUGH SURF TO MANY BATHERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) WHILE CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE...NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...RISK OF CONTINUED RIP CURRENTS IS EXPECTED AS WIND REMAINS AROUND 20 MPH AND GUSTY ALONG THE BEACH. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS SHOULD NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 41 year old male from Louisiana was swimming by himself in the gulf near Perdido Key. The male got in trouble and someone was able to pull him out of the rough surf. He was transported to a local hospital where he died the next day.
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 | 2003-05-09 | 41 | 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: 5358512.