6 flash flood, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 2 hail, 1 heavy rain, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 10, 4:00 AM EST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 500 AM EDT THU JUL 10 2003 UPDATED TO INCLUDE AVIATION DISCUSSION. MAIN PROBLEM IS THE TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN DELAYING THE FRONT. NOW THE MODELS HAVE THE FRONT COMING INTO THE STATE SOMETIME FRIDAY...HOWEVER MOISTURE FIELDS DO NOT REFLECT THIS AND KEEP MOISTURE ACROSS THE CWA THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY EVENING. WITH THE MODELS NOT HANDLING THE FRONT POSITION WELL...I AM SCEPTICAL THAT DRYING WILL OCCUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WILL THEREFORE KEEP CHANCE POPS GOING ACROSS THE CWA THROUGH FRIDAY AND TAPER THE POPS OFF FRIDAY EVENING AND NIGHT. NEXT SHORT WAVE WILL ENTER THE CWA LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. WILL UP POPS TO CHANCE CATEGORY BOTH SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. STUCK CLOSE TO GUIDANCE TEMPS. .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KATL 88 70 86 69 / 50 60 50 30 KAHN 88 71 87 69 / 50 50 50 30 KGVL 86 69 85 68 / 60 60 50 20 KRMG 88 70 87 68 / 60 70 50 20 KCSG 91 73 90 71 / 30 30 50 30 KMCN 93 72 90 72 / 30 30 50 30 .ATL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. 17 AVIATION DISCUSSION... WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVING ACROSS N GA HAS CAUSED SOME 3500 FT CEILINGS JUST N OF ATL AND COULD POSSIBLY AFFECT ATL. MOST OF THE CLOUDS ARE ABOVE 12000. GENERALLY EXPECTING 4000 TO 4500 SCT-BKN CLOUDS LATER TODAY. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY A BETTER THREAT TODAY THEN WEDNESDAY AND STRONGLY DIURNAL. WSW SURFACE WINDS WILL CONTINUE. BDL
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-101600- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 600 AM EDT THU JUL 10 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TODAY WITH ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE AREA WILL WEAKEN THROUGH TONIGHT AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVES TO THE OHIO TO LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEYS. WEAK LOW PRESSURE FROM THE CAROLINAS INTO EAST GEORGIA WILL CONTINUE TODAY. .PRIMARY HAZARD... THE PRIMARY HAZARD FROM THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LIGHTNING. HOWEVER...IF ANY THUNDERSTORMS BECOME SEVERE THEY WOULD MOST LIKELY PRODUCE DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS. THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .DISCUSSION... A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA. CAPES OF 1500 TO 3000 CAN BE EXPECTED ALONG WITH LIFTED INDICES OF MINUS 4 TO MINUS 8. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT THAT HAS BEEN INHIBITING THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS WEAKENING...AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IS APPROACHING THE AREA LATE TONIGHT. HOWEVER...THE BEST MOISTURE TO PRODUCE THUNDERSTORMS IS LOCATED OVER NORTH GEORGIA... WHILE THE BEST INSTABILITY TO PRODUCE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS LOCATED OVER CENTRAL GEORGIA. WHILE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATER TODAY INTO TONIGHT...ONLY ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. .FOR SPOTTERS... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAY TWO THROUGH DAY SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY. FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV...AND CLICK ON GEORGIA. BDL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flash flood, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 2 hail, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
The Dawson county Emergency Management Director reported that excessive rainfall had forced several creeks out of their banks across the western portion of the county near Juno. At least four roads across the county had to be closed because of flooding. In addition, a car was washed off Turnell Creek Road near Juno.
The Dawson News and Advertiser reported that lightning strikes caused several fires around the county, especially the western portion, and killed a rare white Siberian Tiger at a local zoo. Two homes were struck and set on fire by lightning, one being a total loss in the Big Canoe area where a small forest fire also erupted from another lightning strike. Another home was set on fire in Dawsonville, which sustained minor damage and a gas line was also struck near another home.
The Dawson county 911 center reported that several creeks were out of their banks as a result of excessive rainfall during the early afternoon. Bailey Waters, Shoal Creek, and Abbott Creek were all out of their banks. Several sheep were also washed down a road in the flood waters.
The public reported that water was flowing over Georgia Highway 53.
The public reported penny to quarter-sized hail in Mableton and Smyrna, with nickel-sized hail west of Smyrna.
The public reported that Kennesaw Avenue was flooded, with up to two feet of water over the road in spots between Kennesaw and Marietta. Others reported that some roads in the Six Flags area of far south Cobb county were flooded with several inches of water flowing over the roads.
The Fulton county Emergency Management Director, as well as the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, reported that a large, 100-year old oak tree fell on a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) stopped in traffic in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of midtown Atlanta. Three of the four people in the vehicle were killed instantly when the tree fell on the vehicle, including a 37-year old mother and her two boys, one three years old and the other only six months old. The husband in the front seat was uninjured. There were several other reports of trees and even some power lines down during the thunderstorm which left up to 30,000 residents of Atlanta without power during the evening.
Local Atlanta television media reported that a number of roads in and just east of midtown Atlanta were flooded and impassable.
Local Atlanta television news media reported that a number of roads were flooded across the western portion of the county.
The Dade county Assistant 911 Director reported that a couple of small trees were down. He estimated wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph.
An amateur radio operator reported that one tree was blown down on a house in downtown Jonesboro and another tree was blown down on a car.
An amateur radio operator reported that heavy rain resulted in flooding of U.S. Highway 29 in Palmetto.
An amateur radio operator reported that lightning set a house on fire just southwest of Fayetteville in the Lakemont subdivision.
The Wilkinson county 911 center reported that three trees were blown down.
The public reported penny to quarter-sized hail. One large 30-40 foot Birch tree was also split in two in Newnan.
The Wilkes county Emergency Management Director reported that a number of trees had been blown down across the county. Widespread power outages were observed as well.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain, Fulton | 2003-07-10 | 3 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Heavy Rain, Fulton | 2003-07-10 | 37 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Heavy Rain, Fulton | 2003-07-10 | 0 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, July 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: 5334753, 5334024, 5334754, 5334821, 5334822, 5334015, 5334823, 5334014, 5334016, 5334022, 5334017, 5334018, 5334019, 5334020, 5334023, 5334021.