4 hail, 1 tornado, 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 Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 1:08 PM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 208 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003 THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE A CONTINUED THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND FLOODING TONIGHT. HIGH SHEAR AND MOISTURE...AND LOW LFC/S PLUS TORNADO WARNINGS BEING ISSUED UPSTREAM IN GEORGIA SUPPORT A THREAT OF TORNADOES TONIGHT. A TORNADO WATCH WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED SOON. PRECIPITABLE WATER NEAR 1.7 INCHES AND TRAINING ALONG THE EAST-WEST FRONT SUPPORTS A FLOOD THREAT ALSO. A FLOOD WATCH MAY BE NEEDED LATER. THE ETA SHOWS MORE SURFACE RIDGING FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY SO THUNDERSTORMS COVERAGE MAY BE LESS...BUT A CONTINUED STRONG WIND FIELD AND MODERATE INSTABILITY SUPPORTS A SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. PLAN TO RAISE THE GUIDANCE POPS TONIGHT BASED ON RADAR TRENDS. WILL USE THE COOLER GUIDANCE HIGH TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY BASED ON RECENT VERIFICATION. EXTENDED...PLAN TO FORECAST CHANCE POPS MONDAY AND SLIGHT CHANCE THE REST OF THE PERIOD. THE MRF SHOWS A COLD FRONT MOVING INTO THE AREA MONDAY...OTHERWISE EXPECT SURFACE RIDGING WILL LIMIT COVERAGE. GENERALLY PLAN TO FOLLOW THE ENSEMBLE MEANS FOR TEMPERATURES AND POPS. FCSTID = 5 CAE 68 87 68 89 / 60 50 30 20 AGS 67 88 66 89 / 60 50 30 20 SSC 68 86 68 88 / 60 50 30 20 OGB 69 88 69 89 / 60 50 30 20 .CAE... GA...NONE. SC...NONE. RJL
GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-061030- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 429 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA. .DAY ONE... MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL SET UP OVER THE AREA TODAY. AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATER TODAY AND SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE. WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND DIME SIZE HAIL COULD BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED. JDB
GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-061915- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 1222 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003 THIS STATEMENT PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: AIKEN...BAMBERG... BARNWELL...BURKE...CALHOUN...CHESTERFIELD...CLARENDON...COLUMBIA... EDGEFIELD...FAIRFIELD...KERSHAW...LANCASTER...LEE...LEXINGTON... LINCOLN...MCCORMICK...MCDUFFIE...NEWBERRY...ORANGEBURG...RICHLAND... RICHMOND...SALUDA AND SUMTER. .SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE AIRMASS ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA AND EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA IS BECOMING MODERATELY UNSTABLE. MOISTURE IN THE GULF COAST REGION IS SPREADING NORTH INTO THE REGION. THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH GEORGIA WILL MOVE EAST-NORTHEAST INTO THE REGION LATE THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA TONIGHT...SO MORE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED. WITH STRONG VERITICAL SHEAR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS AROUND 60 MPH ARE THE PRIMARY THREATS. HEAVY RAIN WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS AROUND 2.00 INCHES IS ALSO POSSIBLE. ALL INTERESTS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND KEEP POSTED ON WEATHER STATEMENTS...WATCHES... OR WARNINGS WHICH MAY BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. BE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OFFICIALS ARE REQUESTED TO REMAIN ALERT AND MAKE PRELIMINARY PLANS TO DEAL WITH SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD IT OCCUR. SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS...INCLUDING AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS... SHOULD MONITOR THIS WEATHER SITUATION AND RELAY REPORTS PROMPTLY TO THE NEAREST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. IN ADDITION...ALL LOCAL AND STATE SLED TERMINAL OPERATORS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO UTILIZE THEIR PRELIMINARY STORM REPORTING SYSTEM TO RELAY WEATHER REPORTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. PROMPT RELAY OF REAL-TIME REPORTS COULD SUBSTANTIALLY AID THE WARNING PROCESS AND SENSITIZE OTHERS TO THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER. AWP
SCZ018-025-GAZ040-063>065-077-062354- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 154 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003 THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING 2 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA: EDGEFIELD... MCCORMICK... THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING 5 COUNTIES IN GEORGIA: BURKE... COLUMBIA... LINCOLN... MCDUFFIE... RICHMOND... ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM... ...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA... INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH GEORGIA WILL MOVE INTO THE AUGUSTA REGION AND PIEDMONT OF SOUTH CAROLINA DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON. THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER...DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. AWP
SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-GAZ040-063>065- 077-070016- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 216 PM EDT TUE MAY 06 2003 THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING 18 COUNTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA: AIKEN... BAMBERG... BARNWELL... CALHOUN... CLARENDON... CHESTERFIELD... EDGEFIELD... FAIRFIELD... KERSHAW... LANCASTER... LEE... LEXINGTON... MCCORMICK... NEWBERRY... ORANGEBURG... RICHLAND... SALUDA... SUMTER... THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING 5 COUNTIES IN GEORGIA: BURKE... COLUMBIA... LINCOLN... MCDUFFIE... RICHMOND... ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM FOR THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT ACROSS THE MIDLANDS INCREASING... INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHEAST GEORGIA WILL MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA AND PIEDMONT OF SOUTH CAROLINA THIS AFTERNOON. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE EAST INTO THE MIDLANDS BY THIS EVENING. THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING SEVERE WEATHER...TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION. AWP
The Greer radar (KGSP), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:39 UTC.
4 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Sheriff reported golf ball size hail on hwy 79 north of Lincolnton and nickel size hail in Lincolnton.
Sheriff reported intermittent touch down of tornado between New Hope and Kenna.
Sheriff reported 3/4 inch hail in and around Thomson.
DOE employee reported 1 inch hail on Gordon Highway.
Sheriff reoprted 1 inch hail just west of Appling.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Georgia, 2003Warnings in Georgia, May 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: 5354315, 5354316, 5354317, 5354319, 5354318.