1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 5, 9:05 AM EST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
SOUTH FLORIDA AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI 1005 AM EDT FRI SEP 5 2003 UPDATED FLOOD WATCH TO INCLUDE COLLIER...BANDS DEVELOPING ON SATELLITE OUT INTO THE GULF OF MEXICO COULD POSE A HEAVY RAIN THREAT FOR COLLIER AS WELL AS THE WESTERN LAKE OKEECHOBEE REGION. WILL ALSO UPDATE THE ZONES TO SHOW THIS. OTHERWISE FORECAST FOR TODAY LOOKS REASONABLE. MAY ADJUST TEMPERATURES AND POPS SOMEWHAT TO ACCOUNT FOR LITTLE IF ANY SUNSHINE TODAY. 50 .MIA...FLOOD WATCH FOR COLLIER...HENDRY AND GLADES COUNTY TODAY AND TONIGHT. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY JUPITER INLET TO DEERFIELD BEACH.
FLZ063-066>075-052200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 935 AM EDT FRI SEP 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY ...FLOOD WATCH FOR COLLIER...GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES TODAY... ...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY... ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS PALM BEACH COUNTY TODAY... ...MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS COLLIER COUNTY TODAY... TROPICAL STORM HENRI LOCATED OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO THIS MORNING...ABOUT 100 MILES WEST OF THE TAMPA BAY AREA...WILL MOVE EAST AT 7 MPH DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THIS WILL BRING THE CENTER OF THE STORM ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA THROUGH THIS PERIOD. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL EXTEND SOUTH FROM THE CENTER OF THE STORM AND WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA PRODUCING NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. AS MUCH AS 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN COULD BE EXPECTED OVER COLLIER COUNTY AND THE WESTERN LAKE OKEECHOBEE REGION THROUGH SATURDAY AS HENRI AND ITS ASSOCIATED TROUGH MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE PENINSULA. THE GROUNDS IN COLLIER...GLADES AND HENDRY ARE NEARLY SATURATED DUE TO THE RAINS DURING THE PAST FEW DAYS. ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL COULD RESULT IN FLOODING OF ROADWAYS AND POORLY DRAINED AREAS. THEREFORE...A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR COLLIER...GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES THROUGH AT LEAST 6 AM SATURDAY MORNING. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVER THE REST OF SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY. THE MAIN HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES...AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH IN THE STRONGEST STORMS. EASTERLY SWELLS FROM DISTANT HURRICANE FABIAN OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE PALM BEACH ATLANTIC BEACHES TODAY. THESE SWELLS WILL RESULT IN A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENT...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE TIME OF LOW TIDE WHICH WILL BE AROUND 1030 THIS MORNING. SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 KNOTS AND SMALL SOUTHWESTERLY SWELLS...GENERATED BY TROPICAL STORM HENRI...WILL RESULT IN A MODERATE RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS ALONG COLLIER COUNTY BEACHES THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
FLZ069-051716- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 1237 PM EDT FRI SEP 5 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS COMING ONSHORE NAPLES AND METRO COLLIER... A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE COMING ONSHORE THE NAPLES METRO AREA THROUGH 1 PM EDT. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE A QUICK 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL IN A SHORT TIME AS WELL AS WIND GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35 MILES AN HOUR AND POSSIBLY EVEN WATERSPOUTS THAT COULD MOVE ONSHORE BEACH LOCATIONS. A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. RESIDENTS OF THE NAPLES AREA SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER THROUGH AT LEAST 115 PM EDT. PFOST
The Miami radar (KAMX), 13 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:02 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
An off duty National Weather Service meteorologist playing golf on the Palmetto Golf Course, saw a tornado form near the Metro Zoo and move toward the east northeast. No damage was observed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2003Warnings in Florida, September 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: 5374568.