1 thunderstorm wind, 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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 3:00 AM EST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 300 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 ACTIVE NIGHT WITH CONVECTIVE LINE MOVING ACROSS OUR CWA. TORNADO WATCH #62 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM AND SPC WILL ALLOW THIS WATCH TO EXPIRE AT 09Z WITH NO FURTHER ISSUANCE. THE LINE IS MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST WHILE THE CELLS ARE LIFTING NORTHEAST. THIS IS RESULTING IN SOME ECHO TRAINING AND WILL HAVE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING. LATEST MSAS SHOWS THE WARM FRONT OVER OUR NORTHERN TIER GEORGIA ZONES WITH A QUASISTATIONARY FRONT JUST TO THE WEST OF OUR ALABAMA AND FLORIDA PANHANDLE ZONES. MODELS/ZFP: CONVECTIVE LINE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE EAST TODAY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER. MEANWHILE...MODELS SHOW THE QUASISTATIONARY FRONT MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST TODAY AND TONIGHT AS THE NEARLY STACKED SURFACE AND UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER SOUTHWEST MISSOURI LIFTS TO THE NORTHEAST TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES. BY 12Z FRI...THE SHORT TERM MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT IN PLACING THE FRONT ON A LINE ROUGHLY FROM ALBANY TO APALACHICOLA. WINDS SHIFT TO THE WEST AND THEN NORTHWEST WITH SIGNIFICANT DRYING AT ALL LEVELS BEHIND THE FRONT. THE BULK OF THE RAIN WILL BE WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE STORMS THIS MORNING...EARLY AFTERNOON FOR THE EASTERN ZONES. PLAN ON TAPERING POPS TODAY FROM CHANCE WEST TO LIKELY EAST. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP AHEAD OF THE FRONT THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING AND WILL TAPER FROM SLIGHT CHANCE WEST TO CHANCE EAST. THE FRONT MAY BE SLOW TO CLEAR OUR EASTERN ZONES FRIDAY MORNING SO WILL PLACE CHANCE POPS THERE WITH JUST A SLIGHT POP OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES. SATURDAY SHOULD BE DRY. THERE IS A WEAK IMPULSE MOVING RAPIDLY FROM NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI INTO THE CAROLINAS. HOWEVER...VERY LITTLE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH AND ANYTHING THAT DEVELOPS SHOULD STAY TO OUR NORTH. MOS TEMPS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT. MIN TEMPS COOL ON THE ORDER OF 10 TO 12 DEGREES SATURDAY MORNING WITH AFTERNOON READINGS REBOUNDING INTO THE MID TO UPPER 70S. MARINE: WINDS AT THE BUOYS ARE SOUTH AND CURRENTLY AT SCEC CRITERIA SO WILL HEADLINE IN ALL LEGS. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY VEER TO THE WEST THROUGH FRIDAY BECOMING NORTHWEST FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. WINDS WILL BE AT OR JUST BELOW SCEC LEVELS THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT WITH DIMINISHING WINDS ON SATURDAY. FIRE WX: RH VALUES REMAIN UP. NO HEADLINES. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... TLH 083/063 080/050 6431 PFN 080/062 075/054 4221 DHN 081/060 075/052 4221 ABY 081/061 077/052 6421 VLD 084/065 080/054 6431 CTY 084/067 080/055 6431 .TLH... AL...NONE. GA...NONE. FL...NONE. BARRY
ALZ065>069-FLZ007>019-026>029-034-GAZ120>131-142>148-155>161-211100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 600 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND EASTERN PANHANDLE...AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST (8 AM CST) FOR A SMALL PORTION OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE ALONG WITH MOST OF THE FLORIDA BIG BEND...SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THE COMBINATION OF A SURFACE AND UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...ALONG WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE...WILL HELP SUSTAIN SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING...SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THESE STORMS IS THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES AND LARGE HAIL. .RIP CURRENTS... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS TODAY ALONG THE COASTAL ZONE OF THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE DUE TO MODERATE SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY UNTIL THE COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH THE REGION. ONLY ISOLATED TO WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY AND MONDAY. OTHERWISE...GENERALLY FAIR WEATHER IS EXPECTED INTO MID NEXT WEEK. A RIP CURRENT IS A STRONG NARROW CURRENT OF WATER FLOWING FROM THE BEACH THROUGH THE SURF ZONE. IT CAN RAPIDLY CARRY A SWIMMER INTO DEEPER WATER. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...WADE SIDEWAYS PARALLEL TO THE BEACH UNTIL YOU ARE OUT OF ITS PULL. TO ESCAPE...RIDE THE CURRENT OUT BEYOND THE SURF ZONE WHERE THE RIP CURRENT DISSIPATES...THEN SWIM TO SHORE OUTSIDE THE NARROW CURRENT. ALWAYS HEED THE ADVICE OF THE BEACH PATROL AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. WATCH YOUR CHILDREN. BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS NEAR PIERS...JETTIES...AND UNGUARDED BEACHES. AS SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS MORNING AND MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY. 22-BARRY
FLZ011>019-026>028-GAZ124>131-143>148-155>161-201400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 350 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...AND THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE...EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 AM EST THURSDAY MORNING (800 AM CST). THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: IN GEORGIA...MILLER...SEMINOLE...BAKER...DECATUR...TERRELL... DOUGHERTY...MITCHELL...GRADY...LEE...WORTH...COLQUITT...THOMAS... TURNER...TIFT...COOK...BROOKS...BEN HILL...IRWIN...BERRIEN... LANIER...AND LOWNDES. IN FLORIDA...BAY...JACKSON...CALHOUN...GULF...GADSDEN...LIBERTY... FRANKLIN...LEON...WAKULLA...JEFFERSON...MADISON...AND TAYLOR. REMEMBER A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PEOPLE IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. 17-GOULD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Straight-line winds damaged an elementary school and a church. A roof was blown off a house. Reported by a contract observer.
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: 5347024.