3 flash flood, 1 lightning, 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 Raleigh, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 31, 1:00 PM EST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 200 PM EDT SUN AUG 31 2003 .TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING SHOULD DECREASE ACTIVITY DURING THE EVENING BUT WILL CARRY POPS THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT WITH THE SURFACE TROF AS A FOCUS. SLOW MOVING AND POTENTIAL FOR SOME TRAINING COULD POSE A LOCAL FLOODING THREAT THIS EVENING. WHILE UNSURE OF TIMING AS MODELS DO DIFFER...UPSTREAM DRY AIR ANALYZED ON BACK SIDE OF PERSISTENT ATLANTIC RIDGE SHOULD ADVECT INTO CWA BY MONDAY NIGHT WHILE SURFACE TROF PULLS NORTHWARD. SINCE CONVECTION PREFERS MOISTURE GRADIENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT (SEE TODAYS WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND LIGHTNING STRIKES) WILL RAISE AFTERNOON POPS FROM SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE FOR MONDAY. MID LEVEL DRYING TREND IS SHORT LIVED AND WILL CONTINUE TO CARRY CHANCE POPS TUE AND WED AS FIRST IN A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES CRAVING OUT THE NEXT EAST COAST UPPER TROF APPROACHES. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO FORECAST TEMPS. .THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...MODELS DIVERGED IN THEIR DEPICTION OF TROUGH CROSSING THE GREAT LAKES AND EASTERN CONUS. GFS SHEARS TROUGH AXIS TO OUR NORTH...PUSHING THE FRONT THROUGH ON FRIDAY. OTHER MODELS SHOW A MORE AMPLIFIED PATTERN WITH THE TROUGH AXIS REMAINING TO OUR WEST THROUGH SATURDAY. GIVEN THESE DIFFERENCES WILL MAKE FEW CHANGES AND KEEP CHANCE POPS IN THE FORECAST THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...AND BEGIN SUNDAY DRY. TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH LOWS IN THE MID/UPPER 60S AND HIGHS IN THE MID 80S. KK/DS
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-311050- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 455 AM EDT SUN AUG 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY. A FEW STORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER NETWORK ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT. RA
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:29 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike set fire to an apartment building.
Roads were closed due to flooding. A bridge on Abernathy Road was under water.
A bridge on Mendon Hall Road was flooded. Numerous roads were closed near Archdale.
Several streets were flooded, with water close to entering some homes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, 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: 5377131, 5377128, 5377130, 5377129.