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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 6, 1:50 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 250 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003 .SHORT TERM... THIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN MOSTLY DRY ACROSS THE COUNTY FORECAST AREA. STRONG STORMS OVER THE UPPER GULF COAST STATES HAS ROBBED MUCH OF THE MOISTURE. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP ON A COOL FRONT LOCATED FROM MISSOURI TO CENTRAL OHIO. THESE STORMS HAVE DIMINISHED OVER THE LAST HOUR (18:30Z) AS UPPER SUPPORT MOVED INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE FROM MISSOURI TO CENTRAL INDIANA WITH THE BEST DYNAMICS OVER KENTUCKY AROUND 12Z WEDNESDAY. HEAVY RAIN LOOKS TO BE THE MAIN CONCERN OVERNIGHT WITH PRECIPITATION FROM 1/2 TO 1 INCH POSSIBLE. THE FRONT WITH THIS SYSTEM SHOULD DROP SOUTH OF THE CFA WEDNESDAY NIGHT BUT WILL SHIFT NORTH AS A WARM FRONT THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WITH THE APPROACH OF ANOTHER AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WE WILL HOLD ONTO CHC POPS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. .EXTENDED...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY UNSETTLED WEATHER CONTINUING WITH MODELS INDICATING SIGNIFICANT UPPER LOW TRAVELING THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES FROM SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SYSTEM WILL FIRE UP MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE WEEKEND. WEAK RIDGING FOR TUESDAY AND WILL GO DRY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ABOVE SEASONAL NORMS FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. WILL BE A TAD COOLER MONDAY AND TUESDAY. .LMK...NONE JA/KP
INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-070930- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1145 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE OUTLOOK AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS MAY REACH NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA THIS AFTERNOON. A MOIST, UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE OUTLOOK AREA GIVING A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL. ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. THESE STORMS WILL ALSO HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BECOMING SEVERE. WITH SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ACCOMPANYING THE THUNDERSTORMS, THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A THREAT OF FLOODING ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THE OUTLOOK AREA IS AGAIN UNDER A SLIGHT RISK FOR WEDNESDAY. EARLY MORNING THUNDERSTORMS ON WEDNESDAY MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK WITH THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED EACH DAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED TODAY AND THEN LIKELY LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY. JA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE, KY
1025 AM EDT TUE MAY 6 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0700 PM BUENA VISTA KY 1.00 INCH HAIL
05/05/03 HARRISON 1 INCH HAIL REPORTED FROM
EMERGENCY MANAGER.
PKWThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rolling Fork River at Boston crested at 37.0 feet at 1000 EST on May 7. Flood stage at Boston is 35 feet. At this level, agricultural bottomland is covered with water.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, 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: 5355554.