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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 9:45 AM EST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 1045 AM EDT THU MAY 22 2003 MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN REMAINS WIDEPSREAD ACROSS THE CWFA THIS MORNING...ALTHOUGH THE FAR SOUTHWEST NC MNTNS HAVE SEEN THE BACK EDGE OF THE PRECIP SHIELD SHIFT INTO THE AREA. WE EXPECT THE BACK EDGE OF THE RAIN TO CONTINUE TO SHIFT VERY SLOWLY TO THE EAST...AS THE TROUGH AXIS CONTINUES TO DIG SLOWLY TOWARD THE AREA...AND RR QUAD OF UPPER LEVEL JET AXIS LIFTS SLOWLY TO THE ENE. WE WILL ONLY ADVERTISE A LIKELY POP THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER... WITH CATEGORICAL POPS EAST OF THERE. THE FLOOD WATCH WILL BE MAINTAINED FOR THE ENTIRE CWFA TODAY. THE OTHER CONCERN FOR TODAY WILL BE TEMPS...AS FRONTAL BOUNDARY HAS MANAGED TO SAG THROUGH ABOUT THE NORTHERN 3/4 OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH WEDGE OF COOL HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN BEHIND THIS FEATURE. TEMPS HAVE BEEN FALLING SLOWLY FOR MUCH OF THE MORNING ACROSS THE NC PIEDMONT...AND WITH WIDESPREAD RAIN FALLING INTO SURFACE AIRMASS CHARACTERIZED BY WEAK COLD/DRY AIR ADVECTION... EXPECT LITTLE IF ANY MOVEMENT TO TEMPS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ALL BUT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA. THEREFORE...HIGHS HAVE BEEN DECREASED IN MOST ZONE GROUPS THIS AFTERNOON. ON A RELATED NOTE...THE 06Z ETA DOES INDICATE SOME SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...ITS BL TEMPS ARE MUCH TOO WARM CONSIDERING THE DEVELOPING IN SITU OR HYBRID DAMMING EVENT. THE MORNING GSO SOUNDING DID INDICATE SOME WEAK ELEVATED INSTABILITY... SO WE WONT REMOVE THUNDER ALTOGETHER...BUT WILL REDUCE THUNDER CHANCES TO ISOLATED. FCSTID = 4 GSP 65 59 72 56 / 100 70 40 20 AND 65 59 72 56 / 100 70 40 20 CLT 63 60 70 58 / 100 80 60 20 HKY 60 56 66 54 / 100 80 40 30 AVL 63 55 68 52 / 100 70 30 20 .GSP... GA...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES GAZ010... GAZ017>018...GAZ026...GAZ028>029. NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES NCZ033>037... NCZ048>059...NCZ062>072...NCZ082. SC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ZONES SCZ001>014...SCZ019. LANE
GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ033>037-048>059-062>072-082-SCZ001>014- 019-221200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 616 AM EDT THU MAY 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA... UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA...AND EXTREME NORTHEAST GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL FALL ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA TODAY. LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...WITH A DECREASE IN INTENSITY THEREAFTER. HEAVY RAIN MAY REDEVELOP LATER TONIGHT ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM ANDERSON TO CHARLOTTE TO STATESVILLE. SEE OUR PRODUCT CAEFFAGSP FOR MORE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... AS LOW PRESSURE MOVES UP THE COAST ON FRIDAY...THE BACK EDGE OF AN AREA OF HEAVY RAIN MAY AFFECT AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM CHARLOTTE TO STATESVILLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY TODAY FOR THE PURPOSE OF MONITORING STREAM LEVELS AND REPORTING RAINFALL AMOUNTS. MCAVOY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Slow rises along creeks and streams culminated in flooding that began during mid-day. Numerous creeks flooded, especially along the highway 321 corridor. A dike along Crowder's Creek broke, causing water to flow into a mobile home park. At least one mobile home was destroyed, while others sustained damage.
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, 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: 5358875.