1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 11, 11:35 AM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1235 PM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003 FINALLY BROKE OUT OF SW SVR WX FLOW PATTERN. WILL TRANSITION TO A WEAKER AND DRIER WNW FLOW. LITTLE IN THE WAY OF CLOUDS UNTIL TUESDAY...WHEN MID LEVEL MSTR BEGINS TO INCREASE. THIS AHEAD OF A DVLPG WAVE PER THE MODELS OVER MO...WHICH WILL BRING A CHANCE OF RAIN INTO THE REGION WED. ETA CONTINUES TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE DVLPG THE RAIN. WILL BASICALLY GO WITH WHAT WE ADVERTISE IN OUR CURRENT GRIDS. LATEST GFS SHOWS A SLIGHTLY STRONGER SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE PLAINS FRIDAY. WILL CONTINUE WITH ON AND OFF CHANCES OF CONVECTION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPS WERE BASICALLY LEFT IN TACT...BLENDING OUR VALUES A BIT WITH MEX AND FWC. .PAH...NONE.
ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-121000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 500 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
723 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0118 AM SACRAMENTO KY TORNADO
05/11/03 MCLEAN REPORTED BY EMA. 2 BARNS DESTROYED. PICKUP TRUCK
FLIPPED NUMEROUS TIMES.
HOUSE KNOCKED OFF
FOUNDATION. TREES TWISTED
AND DOWNED. DAMAGE PATH 50
YARDS W X 1.5 MILES LPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
723 AM CDT SUN MAY 11 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0118 AM SACRAMENTO KY TORNADO
05/11/03 MCLEAN REPORTED BY EMA DIRECTOR. 2 BARNS DESTROYED. PICKUP TRUCK
DESTROYED. PICKUP TRUCK
FLIPPED NUMEROUS TIMES.
HOUSE KNOCKED OFF FOUNDATION.
TREES TWISTED AND DOWNED. DAMAGE
PATH 50 YARDS WIDE BY 1.5 MILES
LONGThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Little Wabash River rose above flood stage in response to frequent thunderstorms in early May. At Carmi, where flood stage is 27 feet, the river crested at 30.16 feet on May 16. County roads were flooded. Woods and fields in low-lying areas were flooded, and oil well operations were disrupted.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, 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: 5352600.