Flash Flood in Florida, September 6, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in Florida, September 6, 2003
Start: 2003-09-06T05:55
End: 2003-09-06T07:00
Location: Florida

September 6, 2003 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 6, 4:00 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 4:00 AM EST, 1 hour 55 minutes before

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL
500 AM EDT SAT SEP 6 2003

UPDATE...HENRI DOWNGRADED FROM A TROPICAL STORM TO A TROPICAL
DEPRESSION. TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS FROM ENGLEWOOD TO SUWANNEE RIVER
HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.  TROPICAL DEPRESSION HENRI WILL LIKELY MAKE
LANDFALL OVER SOUTHERN PINELLAS COUNTY EARLY THIS MORNING AND WILL
THEN MOVE ACROSS HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY.  CONDITIONS MAY BECOME
BREEZY THIS MORNING WITH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH AND GUSTY AS THE
DEPRESSION MOVES ACROSS THE TAMPA AREA.  THIS MORNING BANDS OF
MODERATE SHOWERS WILL MOVE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA EARLY THIS
MORNING MAINLY TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE DEPRESSION.  A BAND OF
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS PERSISTS OVER SOUTHERN LEE COUNTY.
ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
TODAY WITH ONLY WEAK DAYTIME HEATING.  SPECIAL MARINE WARNINGS IN
EFFECT FROM ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS THIS MORNING DUE TO THE
DEPRESSION. WINDS AND SEAS WILL SUBSIDE THIS AFTERNOON AS THE
DEPRESSION MOVES INLAND AND WEAKENS. FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT
ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS
STILL POSSIBLE TODAY.

.TBW...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON ALL ZONES.
    ...SPECIAL MARINE WARNING ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS.
    ...SMALL CRAFT EXERCISE CAUTION BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD.

OGLESBY

Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 6, 5:00 AM EST, 55 minutes before

FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-061500-

WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL FL
600 AM EDT SAT SEP 6 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY:

...A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN FLORIDA PENINSULA
THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...

TROPICAL DEPRESSION HENRI WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FLORIDA PENINSULA
TODAY. NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE
REGION DUE TO DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE AREA...WEAK SURFACE
HEATING...AND THE DEPRESSION. GUSTY WINDS OF 20 TO 25 MPH ARE
POSSIBLE IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA AS THE CENTER OF THE DEPRESSION
MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. WINDS WILL SUBSIDE ACROSS THE AREA BY
AFTERNOON AS THE DEPRESSION WEAKENS AND MOVES INLAND. RAINFALL WILL
GENERALLY BE AN INCH OR LESS...HOWEVER A FEW AREAS MAY RECEIVE 2 TO 5
INCHES OF RAIN WHERE TRAINING OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY:

NO SIGNIFICANT WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED WITH SCATTERED AFTERNOON
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH AFTERNOON THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.

SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY.

OGLESBY

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:54 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Hernando

When: September 6, 5:55 AM EST to 7:00 AM EST
Where: Hernando County, South Central Portion
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 28.556, -82.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A stationary thunderstorm dropped 5 to 7 inches of rain in one hour near the Brooksville Airport and caused rapid flooding of roads. Emergency Management reported the water retreated as fast as it came, with the flood lasting only for 50-80 minutes. No significant damage occurred due to the lack of homes in the area. The thunderstorm developed on the north side of a tropical low as it moved onshore near Mediera Beach in Pinellas County. This tropical low was formerly known as Tropical Storm Henri that produced winds of 41 knots with gusts to 52 knots at Buoy 42036 100 NM west northwest of Bayport, FL on September 5th at 1200 EST.

What these are

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.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, September 2003

Sources

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: 5368538.