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 Melbourne, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 21, 1:18 PM EST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 218 PM EDT TUE OCT 21 2003 DISCUSSION... TONIGHT...HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE AXIS WHICH IS CURRENTLY TO OUR NORTH WILL SHIFT SOUTH OVERNIGHT AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHES ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES. SHORT TERM GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO DEPICT AN UNEVENTFUL PRE-FRONTAL ENVIRONMENT AS MOST...IF NOT ALL...OF THE MID AND UPPER LEVEL DYNAMIC SUPPORT IS NORTH OR OF THE FRONTAL BAND. WHAT IS EXPECTED IS WIND SHIFTS OVERNIGHT. WINDS SHIFT TO THE WEST AT 5 TO 10 MPH OVER LAND...10 TO 15 KNOTS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS... AS THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS SOUTH OF OUR CWA. LACK OF MID AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE WILL KEEP SKIES PARTLY CLOUDY AT THE MOST. WED...12Z MODEL RUNS FAIRLY CONSISTENT INDICATING COLD FRONT WILL NOT REACH INTO NORTHERN SECTIONS OF EC FL UNTIL AFTER DAYBREAK AND PUSH SOUTH THROUGH EC FL AS THE DAY WEARS ON...REACHING TO SOUTH OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE BEFORE MIDNIGHT. MOISTURE CONTINUES TO LOOK VERY LIMITED WITH THE FRONT AND WILL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY THROUGH FRONTAL PASSAGE. GIVEN THE TIMING OF THE FROPA...SOUTHERN AREAS MAY BE ABLE TO APPROACH THE UPPER 80S WHILE AREAS IN THE NORTH SHOULD TOP OUT IN THE LOW-MID 80S. COOLER AND DRIER AIR MASS ADVECTING INTO THE REGION BEHIND THE FRONT WILL ALLOW FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS INTO THURS MORNING RANGING FROM UPPER 50S NORTH TO MID 60S FAR S. THURS AND FRI...UPPER PATTERN TRANSITIONS OVER THE LOCAL AREA AS 120KT JET LIFTING UP THE NERN SEABOARD LIFTS OUT UPPER TROF. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE DROPS THROUGH THE MIDWEST THURS AND REACHES THE MID ATLANTIC COAST BY LATE FRIDAY. WEAK SECONDARY SURGE MOVES OVER PENINSULA EARLY THURS BUT WITHOUT MUCH CONSEQUENCE. RATHER BENIGN WEATHER WILL EXTEND THROUGH EC FL DURING THIS TIME FRAME WITH A RELATIVELY DRY AIR MASS AND TEMPS NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM CLIMO. SAT THRU NEXT TUES...LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL STAY ONSHORE OVER THE WEEKEND BUT VEER AS HIGH PRESSURE PULLS EASTWARD ACROSS THE ATLANTIC FROM THE MID ATLANTIC COAST. TEMPS WILL SLOWLY WARM IN THIS TIME FRAME AND THERE WILL BE A GRADUAL RETURN OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. THE ONSHORE FLOW MAY ALSO BRING A FEW SHOWERS ONSHORE. WILL PLAY POPS CONSERVATIVELY IN THIS TIME FRAME WITH ONLY ISOLD/SLIGHT CHANCES OVER THE WEEKEND. WILL MONITOR THROUGH LATER RUNS FOR ANY NEED TO TWEAK THESE VALUES. DECENT CONSISTENCY BETWEEN ECMWF/GFS WRT STRONG FROPA EARLY NEXT TUES. FLOW VEERS AROUND TO S-SW MONDAY AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND WITH INCREASED MOISTURE POPS MAY BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER BUT NOT PLANNING TO GO ABOVE LOW END SCT AT MOST. FRONT SHOULD BRING ANOTHER SHOT OF COOLER/DRIER AIR INTO THE REGION AND HOLD AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE 70S. .MARINE...WINDS VEER AND PICK UP WED WITH APPROACH AND PASSAGE OF COLD FRONT. SEAS WILL BUILD HIGHER OVER THE GULF STREAM IN THE WAKE OF FRONT WITH N-NE FLOW. WINDS AND SEAS WILL PICK UP AGAIN HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OFFSHORE TO THE NORTH AND PGRAD TIGHTENS OVER LOCAL AREA. MAY NEED SCA OR AT LEAST CAUTION STATEMENTS LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. .PRELIMINARY CCF... DAB BU 062/083 058/077 60 --00 MCO BU 063/084 058/081 60 --00 MLB BU 065/085 060/081 62 --00 VRB BU 066/086 060/082 62 --00 .MLB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. SHORT TERM...WIMMER LONG TERM...GLITTO
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147- 212100- EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL 345 AM EDT TUE OCT 21 2003 .DAY ONE...TODAY... ALTHOUGH ONSHORE FLOW WILL WEAKEN TODAY...A CONTINUING LONG PERIOD SWELL OVER THE ATLANTIC WILL RESULT IN A MODERATE THREAT FOR RIP CURRENTS TODAY...MAINLY DURING THE OUTGOING TIDE THROUGH MID MORNING ...AND AGAIN DURING THE EARLY EVENING. CHECK WITH THE LOCAL BEACH PATROL FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...AND ALWAYS SWIM NEAR A MANNED LIFE GUARD TOWER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... BENIGN WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH MID WEEK. HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS...AND POSSIBLE RIP CURRENTS DUE TO AN INCREASING SWELL ...WILL REMAIN THE BIGGEST THREAT FROM LATE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY. FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...GO TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV AND CLICK ON EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA. CRISTALDI
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A 70 year old man was swimming alone and was the apparent victim of a rip current.
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, Volusia | 2003-10-21 | 70 | 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, October 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: 5331378.