Flash Flood, Stephens
- When
- March 20, 1:30 AM EST to 4:00 AM EST
- Where
- Stephens County, Countywide
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.554, -83.293 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Georgia, March 20, 2003
Several low bridges flooded throughout the county shortly after midnight, and some small streams began overflowing their banks before sunrise.
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
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 happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Several low bridges flooded throughout the county shortly after midnight, and some small streams began overflowing their banks before sunrise.
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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 12:38 AM EST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 12:38 AM EST, 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1238 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 UPDATING ZONES TO INCLUDE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #63. FCSTID = 4 .GSP... GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES GAZ010... GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029. NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES NCZ033>037... NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082. SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FOR ZONES SCZ001>014... SCZ019. LANE
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 19, 2:55 PM EST, 10 hours 35 minutes before
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-192145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 255 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT... POSSIBLY ACCOMPANIED BY TORNADOES ALONG THE BORDER OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA THURSDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. 07
In the hours before
Local storm report, Mar 19, 9:17 PM EST, 4 hours 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
917 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
910 PM DEWEY ROSE GA .88 INCH HAIL
03/19/03 ELBERT ELBERT 911 RELAYED PUBLIC
REPORT
JONESLocal storm report, Mar 19, 10:04 PM EST, 3 hours 26 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1004 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
955 PM TIGERVILLE SC FLASH FLOOD
03/19/03 GREENVILLE NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED
BEAVER DAM CREEK FLOODING
JONESLocal storm report, Mar 19, 10:45 PM EST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE SPARTANBURG SC
1045 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1012 PM 3 NE WARE SHOALS SC .75 INCH HAIL
03/20/03 LAURENS RELAY OF PUBLIC REPORT BY
COUNTY 911.
NEDThe radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:31 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornado in Georgia, March 20, 2003
- Tornado in Georgia, March 20, 2003
- Tornado in Florida, March 20, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20 to 21, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20, 2003
- Flood in South Carolina, March 20, 2003
- Flood in South Carolina, March 20 to 21, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20 to 24, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, March 20, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, March 20 to 24, 2003
More
Every storm in Georgia in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, March 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: 5348434.