40 hail, 17 flash flood, 11 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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 Mar 19, 3:50 AM EST, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 350 AM EST WED MAR 19 2003 ENERGY ROTATING AROUND CENTRAL STATES UPPER LOW HELPING TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORMS MOVING FROM AL/MS INTO GA THIS MORNING. COOL STABLE AIR THAT HAS WEDGED IN ACROSS THE CWA HAS BEEN TAKING SOME OF THE STRENGTH FROM THE STORMS. MODELS SHOW ATMOSPHERE BECOMING MORE UNSTABLE DURING THE AFTERNOON. THE QUESTION OF THE DAY IS HOW STRONG THE WEDGE WILL REMAIN. WITH RECENT RAINS ACROSS THE CWA...FLOODING MAY BE A CONCERN. WILL KEEP LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE NORTHERN ZONES AND GOOD CHANCE ELSEWHERE TODAY. UPPER LOW PULLS GRADUALLY TO THE NORTHEAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS AND MODELS ARE INCONSISTENT WITH POPS AND TEMPERATURES. AS A RESULT...WILL NOT CHANGE THE PREVIOUS FORECAST MUCH. LOOKS LIKE WE MAY FINALLY DRY OUT BY THE WEEKEND. .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... KATL 66 56 73 56 / 50 70 70 60 KAHN 63 53 71 54 / 50 60 70 60 KGVL 62 52 69 52 / 50 70 70 60 KRMG 67 55 72 55 / 60 70 70 60 KCSG 72 57 77 60 / 50 60 70 60 KMCN 71 57 77 59 / 50 60 70 80 .ATL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...NONE. 41
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-191630- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 530 AM EST WED MAR 19 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT. .SYNOPSIS... A LARGE AREA OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH TONIGHT. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE OVER EASTERN CANADA WILL MOVE OFFSHORE THE NEW ENGLAND COAST TONIGHT. A STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS FAR SOUTH GEORGIA WILL TRY TO MOVE NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. .PRIMARY THREAT... THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. .DISCUSSION... IT IS UNCLEAR HOW MUCH OF THE DAMMED AIRMASS OVER THE AREA WILL GIVE WAY. A WARM FRONT WILL TRY TO MOVE NORTH OVER THE AREA BUT HOW FAR IT WILL GET IS IN QUESTION. A SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY WITH ANOTHER SHORT WAVE EXPECTED LATER TONIGHT. ELEVATED CONVECTION HAS OCCURRED ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR SEVERE CONVECTION TO PENETRATE TO THE GROUND. HOWEVER...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A WARM FRONT TO MOVE NORTH OVER THE AREA...SUFFICIENT SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY COULD DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY OVER CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY...AND NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA TONIGHT. CAPES OF 1000 TO 1500 COULD DEVELOP...WITH LIFTED INDICES OF ZERO TO MINUS 3. ALSO...STRONG LOWER TO MID LEVEL WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THAT WILL HELP TO AID THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. .FOR SPOTTERS... SPOTTERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE ACTIVATION IS NEEDED. EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD MONITOR THE SITUATION. .OTHER HAZARDS... THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL OVER NORTH GEORGIA THROUGH TONIGHT. THIS WILL INCREASE THE POSSIBILITY FOR FLOODING OR FLASH FLOODING. .DAY TWO THROUGH DAY SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THERE WILL BE A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA ON THURSDAY..AND A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA ON FRIDAY. FOR SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV...AND CLICK ON GEORGIA. BDL
GAZ002-191545- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1002 AM EST WED MAR 19 2003 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR 40 MPH WINDS IN WALKER COUNTY. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER WALKER COUNTY. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...WHICH MAY CAUSE SOME SMALL TREE LIMBS TO BE BLOWN DOWN. IN ADDITION...EXPECT A SIGNIGICANT AMOUNTS OF CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL TO THE SIZE OF PEAS. RESIDENTS OF THIS AREA SHOULD STAY INSIDE AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS...AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD END ACROSS THE AREA BY 1045 AM EST. SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERTS ARE ISSUED WHEN WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 40 TO 50 MPH...HAIL IS EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN THE SIZE OF DIMES...OR SIGNIFICANT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED.
GAZ003-191545- SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1004 AM EST WED MAR 19 2003 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR 40 MPH WINDS IN CATOOSA COUNTY. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER CATOOSA COUNTY. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH...WHICH MAY CAUSE SOME SMALL TREE LIMBS TO BE BLOWN DOWN. IN ADDITION...EXPECT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL TO THE SIZE OF PEAS...AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL. RESIDENTS OF THIS AREA SHOULD STAY INSIDE AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS...AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD END ACROSS THE AREA BY 1045 AM EST. SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERTS ARE ISSUED WHEN WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH 40 TO 50 MPH...HAIL IS EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN THE SIZE OF DIMES...OR SIGNIFICANT CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED.
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:08 UTC.
40 hail, 17 flash flood, 11 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
The Catoosa county 911 center reported that several trees and power lines were blown down along Interstate 75. Several barrels were also blown off the interstate in this area.
The Walker county 911 center reported that they had received several reports of penny to nickel size hail.
The Catoosa county 911 center reported that several trees were blown down.
The Dade county 911 center reported that a tree was blown down at Old Hales Gap.
The Walker county 911 center reported penny size hail.
The Summerville Post Office reported that a person experienced golf ball size hail while driving on Georgia Highway 42 between Summerville and Menlo. The hail caused damage to the vehicle. The Chattooga county 911 center reported quarter size hail in Lyerly.
The public reported penny size hail east of Trion near the city of New. The Summerville News reported quarter size hail in Summerville.
Amateur radio operators relayed reports of penny to nickel size hail along and near Interstate 75 from northwest of Dalton at the Rocky Face exit into Dalton. The public reported penny size hail at Praetor's Mill near Dawnville.
An amateur radio operator relayed a report from the Murray County Emergency Operations Center of a 55 to 60 mph wind gust measured on their local weather station.
The Lyerly police reported quarter size hail.
The Polk county Emergency Operations Center reported quarter size hail.
The Heard county sheriff reported penny to nickel size hail in Glenn. A cooperative observer for the National Weather Service reported penny size hail in Franklin.
The public reported penny to nickel size hail.
A local Cedartown radio station reported penny size hail.
The public reported nickel size hail, while the Troup county 911 center reported penny size hail.
The public reported that strong thunderstorm winds blew part of a roof off a barn, blew over a grain auger, and knocked over one tree.
The Coweta county 911 center received reports of penny size hail from just northeast of Grantville to east of Newnan in the Thomas Crossroads area.
The Coweta county 911 center relayed a report of penny size hail.
The Coweta county 911 center reported that trees had blown down.
The public reported penny size hail in Newnan and an amateur radio operator reported penny size hail just northeast of Moreland.
The Taylor county 911 center reported penny size hail north of Butler and penny size hail was observed at a local grocery store in Butler.
The Macon Telegraph reported that a large tree fell across Georgia Highway 137 near Charing. Several thousand customers were also left without power across the county.
Amateur radio operators reported penny size hail.
The Taylor county 911 center reported golf ball size hail.
Amateur radio operators reported quarter size hail.
The Crawford county 911 center reported that several trees were blown down on automobiles.
Several reports of quarter size hail were received from Byron, with penny size hail in the Fort Valley area.
The Peach Emergency Management Director reported that a 60 foot by 60 foot pole barn, enclosed on three sides, was completely destroyed. This structure was located about halfway between Fort Valley and Byron.
The public reported penny size hail.
An amateur radio operator reported nickel size hail.
The public reported penny size hail.
Numerous reports of hail, ranging in size from penny to quarter to golf ball hail, were received from the public in the Warner Robins area. There was one report of tennis ball size hail.
The public reported penny size hail.
The Twiggs county 911 center reported golf ball size hail.
The Warner Robins airport METAR observation indicated a wind gust of 54 knots or 62 mph.
An amateur radio operator reported penny size hail.
The Wilkinson county 911 center reported penny size hail.
The U.S. Post Office in Toomsboro relayed a report of penny size hail.
The U.S. Post Office in Oconee relayed a report of penny size hail in Oconee. Most of the hail was less than dime size.
The Jefferson county 911 center and the public both reported penny size hail.
Several reports were received from the public, including one report from an off duty National Weather Service employee, of hail ranging in size from pennies to quarters were reported from Newnan to the Thomas Crossroads area east of Newnan to Sharpsburg.
The public reported penny to nickel size hail.
The public reported penny size hail.
Numerous reports of penny to nickel size hail were received from the cities of Centerville, Snellville, and Grayson. One report of quarter size hail and another report of quarter to half-dollar size hail were received from Grayson.
The Meriwether county 911 center reported penny to nickel size hail.
The public reported that some streets were flooded because of very heavy rain. In excess of three inches of rain fell across much of the county between midnight and 3 am.
The Fulton county Emergency Management Director reported that some power lines were blown down.
The Troup county 911 center reported penny size hail.
The Clayton county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall across the county in a 2-4 hour time period resulted in the flooding of many roads across the county. Upper Riverdale Road, Homestead Road, and Minnor Drive were all flooded and had to be closed. Numerous other roads around the county had standing water and minor flooding as well.
The Fayette county 911 center reported that several roadways were flooded from heavy rain during a 2-3 hour period. Roads included Georgia Highway 54/McDonough Road east of Fayetteville, Georgia Highway 74 at Tyrone Road, Adams Road at Sandy Creek Road, and parts of Rising Starr Road. The flooding was limited to about a one-hour period and no road closures were reported.
The Henry county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall resulted in the flooding of several roads. Several roads had to be closed, including Pinehurst Road between Valley Road and Old Conyers Road, and Georgia Highway 20 at Interstate 75.
An off duty National Weather Service employee reported that flash flooding caused extensive damage to his home in the Thomas Crossroads area east of Newnan.
The Banks county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall resulted in the flooding of several roads in the south part of the county near the Jackson county border. U.S. Highway 441 had to be closed for several hours because of flooding.
The Barrow county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall resulted in the flooding of several roads in the county including Moon Bridge Road, Chicken Lyle Road, Bill Rutledge Road, Georgia Highway 53N, City Pond Road, and Hale-Jackson Road. Parts of all of these roads had to be closed for several hours.
The Jackson county Emergency Management Director reported extensive flooding of roads caused by excessive rainfall. At least five county roads were closed because of flooding and there was a dam emergency declared at a spillway on Jeff Roberts Road. In addition, seventeen people were trapped inside a recreational vehicle (RV) park near Commerce when the RV park was flooded. All of the campers were rescued safely.
The Walton county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall resulted in the flooding of several roads. Two roads in Monroe, Grady Smith and Bold Springs , had to be closed because of flooding.
The Georgia Emergency Management Agency, as well as the Houston Home Journal of Perry, reported that excessive rainfall caused considerable flooding across the county. The flooding resulted in the closure of three roads and damage to three residences near Bay Gall Creek in the Warner Robbins and Centerville areas.
The Dooly county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall caused a number of roads to be flooded across the county. However, no road closures were reported.
The Bleckley county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall caused numerous roads across the county to become flooded. A couple of roads had to be closed briefly.
The Dodge county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall caused numerous roads around the county to become flooded. However, no road closures were reported.
The Laurens county Emergency Management Director reported that excessive rainfall during the early morning hours resulted in the extensive flooding of roads countywide, ten of which were washed out. Thirty roads had to be closed because of flooding, including U.S. Highway 441/Georgia Highway 19 south of Dublin. Six of these roads remained closed for more than 24 hours so that emergency repairs could be made. Three residences had to be evacuated because of rising runoff waters and two vehicles were abandoned in rising flood waters. However, no rescues had to be made. The rainfall and runoff stopped just short of causing major damage to roads in the county, thus repair costs were minimal. The county schools had to be released early on the 20th because of the extensive flooding and road closures in progress across the county.
The Crisp county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall resulted in the flooding of many roads across the county. In addition, a house in Cordele was flooded.
The Pulaski county 911 center reported that excessive rainfall caused extensive flooding to roads in the county. Some of the major roads flooded included U.S. Highway 341, U.S. Highway 129, and Georgia Highway 26. A number of roads were washed out.
National Weather Service automated river gages indicated that because of excessive rainfall on the order of 3 to 5 inches in 6-hours or less, the Middle Oconee River on the Jackson/Barrow county line rose from 5 feet or less to flood stage of 16 feet in less than six hours. The river then continued to rise and crested at 19.7 feet around 7 pm in the evening. Moderate flooding begins at 18 feet and major flooding occurs at 22 feet.. Residents in the area reported that the river was higher than they had seen in years.
National Weather Service automated river gages indicated that because of excessive rainfall on the order of 3 to 5 inches in 6-hours or less, the Middle Oconee River on the Jackson/Barrow county line rose from 5 feet or less to flood stage of 16 feet in less than six hours. The river then continued to rise and crested at 19.7 feet around 7 pm in the evening. Moderate flooding begins at 18 feet and major flooding occurs at 22 feet.. Residents in the area reported that the river was higher than they had seen in years.
The Treutlen county 911 center reported golf ball size hail.
The Emanuel county 911 center reported penny size hail.
The George L. Smith State Park reported golf ball size hail.
The Jacksonville Post Office relayed a report of quarter size hail. The hail lasted up to 15 minutes.
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, March 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: 5345936, 5345937, 5345938, 5345939, 5345780, 5345940, 5345941, 5345053, 5345943, 5345942, 5345054, 5345057, 5345055, 5345056, 5345181, 5345180, 5345058, 5345179, 5345178, 5345183, 5345182, 5345786, 5345184, 5345185, 5345186, 5345187, 5345188, 5345515, 5345517, 5345782, 5345516, 5345518, 5345629, 5345630, 5345628, 5345781, 5345631, 5345632, 5345633, 5345634, and more.