Thunderstorms with high winds moved through south central Maryland during the evening of the 5th. In Charles County, trees were downed onto power lines in Potomac Heights.
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 episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms with high winds moved through south central Maryland during the evening of the 5th. In Charles County, trees were downed onto power lines in Potomac Heights. In La Plata, trees and power poles were downed. In Prince George's County, a tree was downed onto a house in Fort Washington. In Calvert County, numerous trees and power lines were downed between Chesapeake Beach and North Beach.
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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 6:10 PM EST, 1 hour 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 710 PM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003 SENT OUT FRESHENED UP ZFP TO REMOVE SVR BOX SRN ZONES. REGULAR UPDATE BTWN 900 AND 1000 PM. RDH. PREV DISCS... ----------------------------------------------------------- SHORT-TERM (TONIGHT-WED) TONIGHT...WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS S/W TROUGH SWINGING ACROSS THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS ATTM. THIS IS RESULTING IN RENEWD CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT ACROSSS THE WRN PART OF OUR CWA. OTHER SHRAS ARE OBSERVED ON LATEST RADAR IMAGERY OVER THE FAR NERN PORTION OF OUR CWA. 18Z IAD SOUNDING SHOWS INSTABILITY IS MARGINAL WITH LI OF -2 AND CAPE OF 711 J/KG. SHEAR IS ALSO WEAK. THINK ANY SVR SHOULD REMAIN WELL SOUTH IN NC. MAIN THREAT IS LOCALIZED FLOODING WITH ANY SLOW MOVING STORMS. AFTER STORMS DISSIPATE TONIGHT EXPECT FOG TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT ESPECIALLY OUT TO THE WEST GIVEN WET GROUND AND LIGHT WINDS. WED...ISOLD TSRA STILL POSSIBLE TOMORROW AFTERNOON UNDER CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT AND DAYTIME HEATING. ROSA .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY): MODLES HINT THAT THE TROUGH WILL WEAKEN SLIGHTLY OVR THE EASTERN US BY DAY 7. OTHERWISE...NOT MUCH CHANGE IN THE PATTERN WI THE RIDGE OVR THE ROCKIES...TROF JUST TO OUR WEST OVER THE GREAT LAKES THRU THE OHIO VALLEY...AND ANOTHER RIDGE OVR THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. SLY FLOW AT THE SURFACE AND SWLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO FEED MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARIES...SHORTWAVES...AND DAY TIME HEATING WILL CONTINUE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DAY SEVEN. NO MAJOR CHGS TO CURRNT EXTNDED FORECAST. ND .LWX... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE.
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-061030- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1100 AM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SOME OF THESE STORMS POSSIBLY BECOMING SEVERE. LARGE HAIL IS THE DOMINATE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON HOURS...THE THREAT WILL SHIFT TO HEAVY RAIN. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO FORM INTO CLUSTERS PROVIDING TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS...WHICH WILL LIKELY LEAD TO POOR DRAINAGE FLOODING. IF THE SYSTEM SLOWS BY A FEW HOURS...CENTRAL VIRGINIA MAY EXPERIENCE MORE WIDESPREAD FLOODING...DUE TO A MORE SATURATED SOIL WHEN COMPARED TO AREAS FURTHER NORTH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ROSA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
514 PM EDT TUE AUG 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0428 PM ELKTON VA 1.00 IN HAIL
08/05/03 ROCKINGHAM QUARTER SIZED HAIL
REPORTED BY SPOTTER.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
709 PM EDT TUE AUG 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0655 PM BURTONVILLE VA WIND DAMAGE
08/05/03 GREENE A FEW TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY GREENE COUNTY
911.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
743 PM EDT TUE AUG 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0721 PM ARODA VA WIND DAMAGE
08/05/03 MADISON A FEW TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY MADISON
COUNTY 911.DCZ001-MDZ009-013-016-VAZ052>054-060200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 748 PM EDT TUE AUG 5 2003 ...THUNDERSTORMS TO AFFECT THE METRO AREA DURING THE MID EVENING... A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM EAST OF CULPEPER INTO STAFFORD COUNTY WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE METRO AREA DURING THE MID EVENING. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN OF AN INCH TO AN INCH AND A HALF PER HOUR. FREQUENT LIGHTNING IS ALSO OCCURRING. THE STORMS HAVE ALSO DOWNED TREES AND PRODUCED HAIL. SOME WEAKENING MAY OCCUR AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES AND THE ATMOSPHERE STABILIZES. BE ALERT FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. MOTORISTS SHOULD SLOW DOWN IN AREAS OF HEAVY RAIN. HIGH WATER COULD DEVELOP IN LOW LYING SPOTS. RDH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
801 PM EDT TUE AUG 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0715 PM UNIONVILLE VA WIND DAMAGE
08/05/03 ORANGE A FEW TREES AND
POWERLINES DOWN.The Sterling radar (KLWX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:45 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were downed onto power lines in Potomac Heights. The time was estimated.
Trees and power poles were downed.
Trees were downed onto a house.
Numerous trees and power lines were downed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maryland in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, August 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: 5371354, 5371355, 5371356, 5371357.