Florida, 2003Flash Flood in Florida, September 25, 2003
September 25, 2003 · NWS MLB · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 flash flood, 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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What forecasters said that day
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 Sep 25, 1:42 PM EST, 3 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 25, 1:42 PM EST, 3 hours 13 minutes before
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
242 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003
.DISCUSSION...
CURRENTLY...STORMS FIRING RATHER STRONGLY WHERE THE APPARENT HIGHEST
MOISTURE AXIS WAS...OVER THE SOUTH HALF OF THE PENINSULA. EXPECT
THIS ACTIVITY TO PROPAGATE NORTHWARD DUE TO OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND
EAST COAST SEA BREEZE MOVING INLAND. WILL GO WITH SCATTERED EVENING
POPS OVER THE INTERIOR AREAS...FIGURING THAT MUCH OF THE AREA IS
ALREADY WORKED OVER WHICH WILL LIMIT COVERAGE. LOW LEVEL ONSHORE
FLOW LOOKS LESS THAN 10 KNOTS OVERNIGHT...BUT WILL CARRY SMALL
COASTAL POP SINCE THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE VERY MOIST AND IT WILL NOT
TAKE MUCH LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE TO GENERATE SHOWERS.
LARGE STORM COMPLEX IN THE GULF HAS BEEN SHIFTING SLOWLY EAST AND
WILL PLAN ON IT NOT REACHING THE AREA DURING THE NIGHT. THERE WILL
BE CONSIDERABLE DEBRIS CLOUDS THOUGH SO EXPECT A MOSTLY CLOUDY NIGHT.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...GFS SUFFERING CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK AS NOTED BY
NCEP DISCUSSIONS AND RATHER HIGH QPF TOTAL BULLS EYES OVER AL/GA/N
FL PERIODS 2-4. MODELS ALSO DIFFER SOME IN THEIR SOLUTIONS. GFS THE
MORE AGGRESSIVE IN CLOSING OFF A LOW OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL
GULF/WESTERN PANHANDLE AND ITS HIGHER QPF WHILE ETA GROUP AND NGM
LOOK MORE REASONABLE. MODELS AGREE ON THE BIG PICTURE...SOUTHERLY
FLOW AHEAD OF APPROACHING COOL FRONT AND WESTERN PERIPHERY OF HIGH
PRESSURE RETREATING INTO THE WESTERN ATLANTIC WILL BRING INCREASING
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND LIKELY POPS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.
SUNDAY...GFS QPF PROBLEM NOT AS NOTICEABLE WITH THE ERRONEOUS AREAS
IN THE ATLANTIC AND THE PRESSURE PATTERN LOOKING MORE BELIEVABLE
THAN THE PREVIOUS 2 DAYS. FRONT PUSHING ACROSS NORTHERN CWA EARLY IN
THE DAY THEN THE SOUTHERN CWA SUNDAY NIGHT. WILL GO WITH A NORTH TO
SOUTH/20 TO 40 POPS AS THE FRONT MOVES DOWN THE PENINSULA. THE
DISSIPATING TAILEND OF THE FRONT SHOULD CLEAR THE CWA OVERNIGHT
SUNDAY BUT RESIDUAL MOISTURE WILL LINGER OVER THE SOUTHERN 3
COUNTIES INTO THE WORK WEEK.
EXTENDED...BRISK NORTHEAST FLOW ON MONDAY WITH HIGHER MOISTURE
REMAINING OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE GIVES WAY TO
EASTERLY FLOW STARTING TUESDAY. THIS FLOW OVER THE WARM ATLANTIC
WATERS WILL MODERATE THE AIR MASS QUICKLY...SO JUST EXPECT SLIGHTLY
BELOW CLIMO TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY...THEN A RETURN TO CLIMO TUESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY.
.MARINE...EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. THE
APPROACH OF A COOL FRONT VEERS THE WIND TO THE SOUTH SATURDAY AND
THE SOUTHWEST SUNDAY AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS AL/GA. WINDS AND SEAS
WILL INCREASE SUNDAY WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONT AND HIGH PRESSURE
BUILDING DOWN THE COASTAL WATERS. THE GLOBAL WAVE WATCH MODEL
DEVELOPS NORTHEAST SWELLS MONDAY AND CONTINUES THEM THROUGH TUESDAY.
SWELLS LOOK TO BE A RESULT OF A NORTHEAST PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN
THE BUILDING HIGH CENTERED OVER KY/TN AND THE LONG TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM AROUND BERMUDA TO CUBA AND ONTO THE
NORTHWEST CARIBBEAN. ON A SIDE NOTE FOR NEXT COUPLE DAYS CWF/S...GWW
SWELLS WED/THU LOOK WAY OVERDONE DUE TO HIGHER GFS/GWW WINDS.
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DAB TT 071/084 073/084 073 264
MCO TT 072/086 071/086 071 364
MLB TT 072/085 074/085 074 264
VRB TT 072/085 074/084 074 264
.MLB...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
SHORT TERM...LASCODY
LONG TERM....WIMMER
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 25, 10:40 AM EST, 6 hours 15 minutes before
AMZ550-555-570-575-FLZ041-044>047-053-054-058-059-064-141-144-147-
252000-
EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
1140 AM EDT THU SEP 25 2003
.DAY ONE...TODAY:
A MORE MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WILL LEAD
TO A GREATER COVERAGE OF STORMS COMPARED TO YESTERDAY. THE MAIN
FOCUS WILL BE THE INLAND MOVING SEA BREEZE BOUNDARY.
THE GREATEST COVERAGE WILL BE OVER INTERIOR COUNTIES DURING THE LATE
AFTERNOON AS BOUNDARY INTERACTIONS INCREASE. A FEW OF THESE STORMS
COULD BECOME STRONG WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS.
STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING...GENERALLY NORTHWEST TO NORTH AROUND 5
MPH. THIS WILL LEAD TO THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF
2 TO 3 INCHES IN SOME LOCATIONS...CAUSING TEMPORARY FLOODING OF
LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY:
SCATTERED AFTERNOON LIGHTNING STORMS CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. COVERAGE MAY START TO DECREASE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A
WEAKENING FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDES INTO SOUTH FLORIDA.
.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.
RL
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Sep 25, 12:39 PM EST, 4 hours 16 minutes before
FLZ058-251830-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
139 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003
...STRONG STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH OVER
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY...
AT 134 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WIND GUSTS 13 MILES SOUTH OF FORT
DRUM...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH.
FREQUENT LIGHTNING WAS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM.
RL
Special weather statement, Sep 25, 2:22 PM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
FLZ045-046-252000-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
322 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003
...STRONG STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH OVER
ORANGE COUNTY...AND SEMINOLE COUNTY...
AT 320 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WIND GUSTS OVER ORANGE COUNTY
BETWEEN BITHLO AND THE ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. THE STORMS
WERE MOVING WEST NORTHWEST AT 10 TO 15 MPH.
LOCATIONS IN ORANGE COUNTY WHICH MAY EXPERIENCE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
WITH GUSTY WINDS AND EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING INCLUDE THE AREA FROM
DOCTOR PHILIPS AND WINDERMERE...TO AZALEA PARK AND WINTER PARK...TO
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS AND WINTER SPRINGS IN SEMINOLE COUNTY.
IF THESE STORMS STRENGTHEN FURTHER...A WARNING WILL BE ISSUED.
DWS
Special weather statement, Sep 25, 2:57 PM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes before
FLZ041-044>046-252045-
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
357 PM EDT THU SEP 25 2003
...STRONG STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND SMALL
HAIL IN ORANGE AND SEMINOLE COUNTIES...
AT 353 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG WINDS AND SMALL HAIL OVER
GOLDENROD...MOVING NORTH AT 10 MPH INTO VOLUSIA COUNTY. THIS STORM HAS A
HISTORY OF PRODUCING PEA-SIZED HAIL AND WINDS UP TO 35 MPH.
LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THE STORM WHICH MAY EXPERIENCE STRONG WINDS
AND SMALL HAIL INCLUDE FERN PARK...MIDWAY AND UNION PARK.
IF THE STORM STRENGTHENS FURTHER...A WARNING WILL BE ISSUED.
Flash Flood, St. Lucie
- When
- September 25, 4:55 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- St. Lucie County, Port St Lucie
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 27.381, -80.445 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
About six inches of rain fell in the Port St. Lucie area flooding major roadways and stalling cars.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Lightning Strikes in Florida, September 25, 20031 death · 3 injured · $8,000 · 2 events
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, September 25, 2003$300,000 · F1 · 7 events
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 25, 20031 injured · 1 event
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, September 25, 20031 event
- Wildfire in Oregon, September 25 to 26, 20031 event
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, September 25, 20031 event
- High Wind in Montana, September 25, 200350 kt wind · 1 event
- Hail in Florida, September 25, 20030.88 in hail · 1 event
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 25, 20031 event
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: 5336959.