3 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 9, 2:12 AM EST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 312 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003 YET ANOTHER TSTM COMPLEX RIDING STAGNANT FRNTL BNDRY ON CURRENT IR SAT. TSTMS TRACKING ACRS INDIANA HAVE BEEN WEAKENING OVER LAST FEW HRS...AND APPEAR TO BE MSTLY SUBSEVERE. MORE TSTMS FURTHER WEST ACRS MISSOURI AND WESTERN ILL APPEAR DESTINED TO TRACK TOWARDS NRN KENTUCKY FOR MID MRNG INTO AFTN. BIGGER CONCERN FROM TSTMS TO OUR WEST IS HVY RAIN POTENTIAL. STORMS LINING UP WEST-EAST ACRS EAST CNTRL INDIANA...AND THAT IS PROGGED TO MOVE INTO FLOOD RAVAGED AREAS ACRS NW FCST AREA. AS STATED ABV...BIGGEST CONCERN FOR NEXT 24 HRS LOOKING TO BE MORE TOWARDS POTENTIAL FOR HVY RAIN AND THREAT FOR ADDL FLOODING. SVR THREAT HAS DIMINISHED FOR MUCH OF FCST AREA AS AFTN/EVNG CONVECTION ON TUESDAY REALLY WORKED OVER ATMOSPHERE. CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLD SVR STORM TODAY...WITH GREATEST CHC ACRS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF FCST AREA. FLOOD WATCH SET TO EXPIRE AT 12Z THIS MRNG...AND WITH MORE CONVECTION EXPCTD TODAY...WILL EXTND FLOOD WATCH ACRS NORTHERN 1/2 FCST AREA THRU TONIGHT. ANY PCPN WILL WORSEN ONGOING FLOODING IN WEST CNTRL OH...AND HVY RAIN THAT FELL IN DAY/CMH AREAS TUES COULD MEAN INCREASE FLOODING POTENTIAL IN THESE AREAS. HAVE DECIDED TO EXTND WATCH A BIT FURTHER SOUTH...TO ENCOMPASS AREAS TO NORTH OF CVG METRO. ALSO WITH MORE CLOUDS IN AREA...WILL DROP HEAT ADV FOR CVG AND HAMILTON CO. ETA/GFS STILL FOCUSING ON FROPA ACRS FCST AREA THURS EVNG/NIGHT AS STRONG S/WV SPINS UP SFC LO AND TRACKS IT THRU LOWER GRT LKS. BOTH MODELS (WITH GFS ESPECIALLY AGGRESSIVE) TRYING TO BRING DRY PUNCH IN ACRS NORTHERN COUNTIES TONIGHT WITH BNDRY FOCUSING CLOSER TO OH RIVER. CONSIDERING MODELS HAVE HAD POOR TIME RESOLVING MESOSCALE FEATURES LAST FEW DAYS AND WITH BNDRY REMAINING IN AREA...DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE SOLNS AND WILL KEEP HI CHC POPS FOR ENTIRE FCST AREA TONIGHT. BETTER FOCUS FOR CONVECTION THOUGH APPEARS TO BE ACRS SOUTHERN 1/2 FCST AREA. LKLY POPS AS S/WV TRACKS INTO FCST AREA THURS AFTN...WITH TSTMS ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST LATE EVNG INTO ERLY FRI MRNG. THE MUCH NEEDED BREAK FROM ALL OF THESE TSTMS STILL LOOKS ON TRACK FOR FRI INTO THE WEEKEND AS FRNTL BNDRY MOVES WELL OFF TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. TEMPS...WENT WITH FWC GUID TODAY AS MAV/MET GUID APPEAR TOO COOL. GENERALLY CLOSE TO MAV TONIGHT INTO FRI. TEMPS NEAR NORMAL FOR WEEKEND WITH REASONABLE AMT OF SUNSHINE. .ILN...OH...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 8 AM THURS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL OHIO...AND THE MIAMI VALLEY. IN...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 8 AM THURS FOR PORTIONS OF WHITEWATER VALLEY. KY...NONE. RYAN
INZ050-058-059-066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ026-034-035-042>046- 051>056-060>065-070>074-077>082-088-081145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 554 AM EDT TUE JUL 8 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN INDIANA...NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF OHIO. .DAY ONE...TODAY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS. FLOODING RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY OF THE THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70. THE FLOOD WATCH FOR WEST CENTRAL OHIO WILL EXPIRE AT 8 AM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE MOST AFTERNOONS AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. ANY OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS COULD CONTAIN HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. RYAN
INZ050-058-059-OHZ045-046-053>056-060>065-070>072-090430- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 1133 PM EDT TUE JUL 8 2003 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE WHITEWATER AND MIAMI VALLEYS...AND MUCH OF CENTRAL OHIO HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WEAKENED OVER THE LAST TWO HOURS...AND HAVE NOW MOVED EAST OF THESE AREAS. THEREFORE...THE WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. RYAN
INZ066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ073-074-077>082-088-090500- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 1229 AM EDT WED JUL 9 2003 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED... THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE TRI STATE AREA...AND SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WEAKENED OVER THE LAST TWO HOURS...AND HAVE NOW MOVED EAST OF THESE AREAS. THEREFORE...THE WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. RYAN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
100 AM EDT WED JUL 09 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1155 PM CELINA OH FLASH FLOOD
07/08/03 MERCER MANY ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
CLOSED DUE TO WATER COUNTY
WIDE. STATE OF EMERGENCY
CONTINUES DUE TO FLOODING
MBPThe Indianapolis radar (KIND), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:59 UTC.
3 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A cluster of thunderstorms moved through the Whitewater Valley during the early morning. Two inches of rain fell across much of the county, causing flooding of several roads.
Several homes sustained basement flooding.
Large tree limbs were downed.
Several large tree limbs were knocked down.
High water and debris closed State Route 56.
Numerous roads were flooded and closed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, July 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: 5329503, 5329504, 5329501, 5329502, 5329505, 5329506.