27 flash flood, 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 27 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 Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 21, 2:14 AM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 205 AM CST FRI FEB 20 2002 ...FORECAST CONCERNS REMAIN THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL TODAY AND THE SEVERE WEATHER EVENT SHAPING UP FOR TONIGHT... LOCAL 88-DS ARE ALREADY LIT UP THIS MORNING WITH MODERATE RAIN FALLING ACROSS THE WHOLE CWA. THE HEAVIEST RAIN WAS STILL SOUTHWEST OF THE CWA ACROSS CENTRAL LOUISIANA ASSOCIATED WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI SHORTLY. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD ACROSS THE CWA TODAY AS THE WARM FRONT CURRENTLY ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI LIFTS BACK TO THE NORTH. WITH 24-HR QPF AMOUNTS AROUND 2 INCHES AND LOCAL AMOUNTS OF THREE TO FOUR INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WHOLE CWA THROUGH TONIGHT WL EXPAND THE FLOOD WATCH TO ENCOMPASS THE WHOLE CWA. THE MAIN EVENT IS STILL SLATED FOR TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW OVER OLD MEXICO THIS MORNING APPROACHES OUR AREA AND HELPS DEEPEN THE LOW ALREADY FORMING OFF THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS COAST. THE SFC LOW WILL TRACK TO THE NORTHEAST ACROSS THE DELTA REGION. FAVORABLE DYNAMICS...ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND ENOUGH INSTABILITY ARE EXPECTED TO COME TOGETHER TONIGHT TO PRODUCE A SQUALL LINE THAT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CWA TONIGHT. SPC HAS OUTLOOKED OUR AREA IN A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS GENERALLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM VICKSBURG TO GRENADA WITH A SLIGHT RISK ELSEWHERE. WRAP AROUND RAIN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES SATURDAY BUT THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD BE EAST OF OUR COUNTIES BY NOON. SUNDAY STILL LOOKS DRY BUT A SECOND COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT AND SQUEEZE OUT SOME MORE RAIN. COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER WILL FOLLOW THROUGH MID WEEK. PRELIM NUMBERS... JAN 69/53/58/40/67 ++401 MEI 69/55/60/38/67 ++501 .JAN... AR...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT ALL ZONES SE AR. LA...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT ALL ZONES NE LA. MS...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT ALL ZONES. 22
ARZ074-075-LAZ007>009-015-016-023>026-MSZ018-019-025>066-072>074- 221200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS 0435 AM CST FRI FEB 21 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI... NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... ...THUNDERSTORMS... A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXIT FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT FOR EASTERN LOUISIANA INTO MOST OF MISSISSIPPI...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM JONESVILLE LOUISIANA TO YAZOO CITY TO COLUMBUS MISSISSIPPI. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF THIS LINE. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE WIDESPREAD THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...BUT NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED BEFORE 5 PM. A COMPLEX OF STORMS WAS MOVING OVER THE REGION THIS MORNING...BUT IS EXPECTED TO TAPER OFF FROM THE WEST BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. REDEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS A STRONG STORM SYSTEM HEADS TOWARD THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. THIS WILL LIKELY TRIGGER WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THUNDERSTORMS STRENGTHEN OVER THE REGION TONIGHT...A LINE OF STRONG STORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND SWEEP THROUGH THE REGION BEFORE 6 AM SATURDAY. THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER 70 MPH AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY SOUTHEAST OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM LIFTING INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL COMBINE WITH ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTHEAST LOUISIANA...AND MUCH OF MISSISSIPPI. AS THE CORE OF THE STORM APPROACHES OUR AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON...A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO INTENSIFY OVER LOUISIANA AND MOVE INTO MISSISSIPPI IN ROUTE TO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. ...FLOODING... PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE LIKELY THIS MORNING AS WELL AS LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT OVER THE ENTIRE REGION. STORM TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED. AREAS WHERE THUNDERSTORMS CROSS OVER FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME COULD GET ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 5 INCHES. THE SOIL IS AT SATURATION AND ANY FURTHER RAINFALL WILL CAUSE RAPID RUNOFF AND LOCALIZED FLOODING PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY IN LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. THIS WILL BE DUE TO AN APPROACHING INTENSIFYING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE...WHICH WILL OPEN UP THE GULF FOR WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO REDEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. ...NON PRECIPITATION... AN INTENSE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON. THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DEEPEN AS IT CROSSES LOUISIANA INTO MISSISSIPPI THIS EVENING. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM 10 TO 15 MPH TO 15 TO 25 MPH FOR THIS EVENING...GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20 AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 55. THIS WILL CREATE ROUGH BOATING CONDITIONS ON AREA LAKES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... ...DAYS TWO AND THREE... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ...DAYS FOUR THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... THE ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...STORM SPOTTERS...AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/JAN. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
27 flash flood, 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rains caused a section of Bend Road to get washed out. Additional flooding occurred across a portion of Paradise road 10 miles east of Yazoo City.
Thunderstorm winds toppled a tree and two powerlines in the city of Vicksburg.
Heavy rains caused Fern Lane to be coved with water. A person drove into this flooded street and had to be rescued by the Emergency Response Team. Additional street flooding occurred on a portion of state road 550.
Heavy rains caused water to flood a portion of Rabbit road.
Heavy rains caused Dodger road to flood.
Heavy rains caused portions of River Road to flood. This high water resulted in several cars getting stuck on River Road in Franklin county.
Heavy rains caused a portion of Calhoun Road to get washed out. Along a portion of Cotton Street water was coming over a bridge.
Continued heavy rainfall caused water to enter a house on Lipsey Street as well as having numerous county roads flooded across the southern portion of Lincoln county.
Heavy rains caused water to cover a portion of Georgetown Street.
Heavy rains caused water to cover several roads in Oak Vale.
Continued heavy rains caused several roads to get closed, generally between Mt. Olive and Collins. Arbo Road, Mooney Road, Station Creek Road, and George Speed Road were all closed.
Heavy rains caused Weathersby Creek to flood over Flint Road and a portion of the road had to be closed.
Heavy rains caused water to cover several county road overpasses.
Continued heavy rain caused widespread Street flooding across Franklin county.
Continued heavy rain causes 1 to 3 feet of water to cover roads in Prentiss.
Continued heavy rains caused Several roads to get flooded in the city and traffic had to be diverted to non flooded streets.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few trees across Franklin county.
Continued heavy rains caused Numerous streets to flood.
Heavy rains caused several streets to flood in the city of Richland.
Heavy rains across the county caused several low-lying roads to flood.
Heavy rains caused a bridge to be washed out between Hearmanville and Port Gibson on Highway 18.
Heavy rains caused several roads to be covered with water across the southern portion of Marion county.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down a few trees.
Continued heavy rain caused a few homes to be flooded.
Heavy rains caused numerous streets to flood in the city.
Heavy rains caused a portion of Old Macon Road to flood.
Heavy rains caused a few county roads to flood.
Heavy rain caused McNutt Bottom Road and part of Tibbee Road to be closed.
Thunderstorm winds caused numerous trees to be blown down across the county.
Heavy rains caused a portion of state road 491 to flood.
Heavy rains caused a road in north Canton to flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Mississippi in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Mississippi, February 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: 5342582, 5342583, 5342584, 5342585, 5342586, 5342587, 5342588, 5342589, 5342590, 5342591, 5342592, 5342593, 5342594, 5342683, 5342684, 5342685, 5342686, 5342687, 5342688, 5342689, 5342690, 5342691, 5342692, 5342693, 5342694, 5342695, 5342696, 5342697, 5342579, 5342698, 5342699, 5342700, 5342580, 5342581, 5342701, 5342702.