High winds developed ahead of a cold front across the mountains of northeast Georgia, mainly in the higher elevations. Several trees were blown down across the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
High winds developed ahead of a cold front across the mountains of northeast Georgia, mainly in the higher elevations. Several trees were blown down across the area. In northern Habersham County, a tractor trailer collided with a fallen tree.
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 Nov 18, 9:50 PM EST, 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 950 PM EST TUE NOV 18 2003 .DISCUSSION... FIRST LINE OF CONVECTION HAS WEAKENED...BUT RAINFALL SPREADING ACROSS CWFA ATTM. EXPECT HEAVY RAIN TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT AS CURRENT CONDITIONS FAVOR PREVIOUS FCST. HPC EXCESSIVE RAINFALL DISCUSSION SUMS SITUATION UP NICELY. SHORT VERSION IS STRONG UPSLOPE FLOW COMBINED WITH STRONG LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND STRONG UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE AND HIGH PW/S LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT FLOOD POTENTIAL. WILL LEAVE FLOOD WATCH AS IS. EVEN WITH LIMITED INSTABILITY...STRONG WIND FIELDS COMBINED WITH STRONG FORCING EXPECTED OVERNIGHT WILL COMBINE TO KEEP MCS TO OUR WEST INTACT. THIS LEADS TO CONTINUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POSSIBILITY TOWARD MORNING. AS MENTIONED ABOVE...WIND FIELDS STILL QUITE STRONG. HOWEVER THESE WINDS HAVE YET TO BE REALIZED AT THE SURFACE. WINDS ARE BEGINNING TO GUST THOUGH. ALSO THE STRONG WINDS ALOFT WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT. ANY MIXING WILL ALLOW THOSE WINDS TO MAKE IT TO THE SURFACE...SO WILL CONTINUE HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORY. TEMPERATURES ARE RUNNING HIGHER THAN FCST. DEW POINTS ARE HOLDING UP AS WELL. WILL RAISE LOWS TO NEAR CURRENT DEW POINTS...WHICH WILL BE WARMER ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. HAD TO RAISE WED HIGHS A COUPLE OF DEGREES GIVEN THE WARMER LOWS. CATEGORICAL POPS ALL AREAS OVERNIGHT. && .GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GA...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010...GAZ017. FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES GAZ010... GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028. NC...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ033...NCZ048>053... NCZ058>059...NCZ062>063. FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES NCZ033>034... NCZ048>055...NCZ058>059...NCZ062>067. && RWH
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-181300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 600 AM EST TUE NOV 18 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SHOWERS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE REGION FROM THE WEST TODAY AHEAD OF A STRONG STORM SYSTEM APPROACHING FROM THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL STEADILY INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. MOUNTAINS WIND SPEEDS WILL REACH 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH BY TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE HIGH WIND WATCH...CAENPWGSP...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP FROM THE WEST DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS...AS WELL AS ISOLATED TORNADOES. SEE THE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CAESPSGSP...FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE WIDESPREAD 2 TO 3 INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY...WITH LOCAL 4 TO 5 INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN SOME SOUTHERLY UPSLOPE AREAS. PLEASE SEE THE FLOOD WATCH...CAEFFAGSP...FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE STRETCHED THROUGH THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AROUND DAYBREAK TOMORROW. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT MAINLY PIEDMONT SECTIONS ON WEDNESDAY. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY BY LATE THIS EVENING. HG
NCZ051-058-062-182315- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 514 PM EST TUE NOV 18 2003 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING... A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO GRAHAM AND SWAIN COUNTIES BETWEEN 5:30 AND 6 PM...AND INTO WESTERN MACON COUNTY SHORTLY AFTER 6 PM. SOME OF THESE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE. ALTHOUGH THE STORMS ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF WEAKENING...THEY MAY REMAIN CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 60 MPH AS THEY ENTER THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS. WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE WILL BE CAPABLE OF BLOWING DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. LANE
NCZ051-052-058-059-062-063-190100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 701 PM EST TUE NOV 18 2003 ...HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING... AT 7 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS EXTENDING FROM THE SMOKIES SOUTH TO ANDREWS AND THE GEORGIA BORDER. THROUGH 8 PM...THESE SHOWERS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ISOLATED WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 60 MPH AS THEY MOVE THROUGH BRYSON CITY...FRANKLIN...SYLVA...AND SURROUNDING AREAS. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS TONIGHT. OTHERWISE...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE SHOWERS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. LANE
GAZ010-017-SCZ001-190115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 719 PM EST TUE NOV 18 2003 ...HEAVY SHOWERS COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED STRONG WIND GUSTS THIS EVENING ACROSS THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA... AT 715 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS MOVING INTO EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. AS THESE SHOWERS MOVE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH 815 PM...THEY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING ISOLATED WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 60 MPH. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA TONIGHT... WHILE A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE MEDIA FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. LANE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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, November 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: 5331201, 5331202.