7 hail, 3 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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 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 May 9, 1:00 PM EST, 4 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 200 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003 HEAT WILL CONTINUE FOR ONE MORE DAY THEN A DOWN TURN IN TEMPS EXPECTED EARLY NEXT WEEK. SHORT TERM FORECAST CHALLENGE CENTERS ON PROBABILITY OF CONVECTION THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. TONIGHT...FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT DRIFTED SOUTH INTO NORTHERN PIEDMONT LATE LAST NIGHT AS RETURNED NORTH INTO VA. MCS OVER WV/WESTERN VA SHOULD DRIFT SE ALONG THIS BOUNDARY. THUS...SHOULD SEE SCATTERED CONVECTION MOVE INTO THE FAR N/NE COUNTIES OF FORECAST AREA IN THE 22-02 TIME FRAME. AS PER LATE MORNING UPDATE...WILL PLACE HIGHEST POPS (40-50%) IN THE FAR N-NE AND DWINDLE DOWN TO EITHER ISOLATED/NO POP IN THE SOUTH. FOR SATURDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT...HIGHEST POPS AGAIN (HIGH CHANCE) WILL BE IN THE FAR NORTH DUE TO PROXIMITY OF WESTERLIES OVER NORTHERN MID ATLANTIC WHICH WILL BE FAVORED AREA FOR CONVECTIVE COMPLEX TO TRAVEL FROM OH VALLEY. TAIL END OF COMPLEX CROSSES NORTHERN HALF OF FORECAST AREA SATURDAY AFTERNOON. MID/UPPER LEVEL RIDGE STRONGER OVER SOUTH HALF...SO WILL LIMIT CONVECTIVE POPS TO EITHER SLIGHT CHC/SMALL CHC. CONVECTION MAY BE STRONG/ISOLATED SEVERE OVER FAR N/NE SAT AS WIND PROFILE/STRUCTURE SUGGEST DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS. WESTERLY FLOW PROCEEDING FRONT SUN WILL LIMIT MOISTURE ADVECTION AND TRANSPORT WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. MODEL PROGS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN DEPICTING A LESS WET MOISTURE AXIS CROSSING CENTRAL NC SUN AFTERNOON. SUPPORT UPSTAIRS IS NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE AS WELL. SINCE FRONT CROSSING REGION DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY...WILL MAINTAIN CHC POPS FOR NOW. MAY RAISE HIGHS SUN A DEGREE OR TWO FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST. WILL GO WITH BREEZY SW FLOW SUNDAY. FRONT CLEARS AREA SUN NIGHT WITH MUCH DRIER/COOLER AIR ADVECTING IN. LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES SUGGEST HIGHS MON 10-12 DEGREES COOLER COMPARED TO SUN. THICKNESS PROGGED TO DROP 50-55 M BETWEEN 12Z SUN-12Z MON. WILL LIKELY TRIM FORECAST HIGHS MON ABOUT 3 DEGREES FROM PREVIOUS FORECAST. EXTENDED....TUESDAY-FRIDAY WILL FEATURE TEMPS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL WITH RAIN CHANCES MINIMAL THROUGH WED/THU. W-NW FLOW IN THE MID/UPPER LEVELS WILL SEND REINFORCING SHOTS OF SEASONABLY COOL DRY AIR INTO CAROLINAS TUE-THU. SOME QUESTION AS TO TIMING OF RETURN FLOW LATE NEXT WEEK. DUE TO UNCERTAINTY WILL FORECAST CLOUDINESS THU/FRI BUT REFRAIN FROM MENTIONING RAIN. .RAH...NONE. WSS
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-091050- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 515 AM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...LATE TODAY INTO TONIGHT THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE TODAY INTO EARLY TONIGHT. THE MAJOR THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND AND POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN LATE SATURDAY. A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL INCREASE THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY. AGAIN...THE MAJOR THREATS WILL BE FROM DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER TODAY INTO EARLY TONIGHT. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AFTER 200 PM AND LINGER AT LEAST THROUGH SUNSET.
NCZ007>011-026-027-092130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 440 PM EDT FRI MAY 9 2003 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO WARREN...GRANVILLE...PERSON...VANCE...AND HALIFAX COUNTIES AROUND 530 PM EDT... ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA... AT 440 PM EDT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH. DAMAGING WINDS UP OF 60 MPH...HAIL THE SIZE OF QUARTERS...AND DANGEROUS CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS AS THEY APPROACH THE NORTH CAROLINA BORDER. AN ISOLATED TORNADO MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CROSS THE VIRGINIA BORDER BETWEEN 530 PM AND 600 PM. PEOPLE OUTDOORS IN THIS AREA SHOULD PREPARE TO MOVE INDOORS WHEN THUNDER IS HEARD OR SKIES TURN DARK. BOATERS ON KERR LAKE AND LAKE GASTON SHOULD PREPARE TO MOVE TO SHORE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE PRODUCING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF DEADLY LIGHTNING. SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS. DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU CANNOT SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AUTOMOBILES CAN PROVIDE ADEQUATE SHELTER. BOATERS ON THE OPEN WATER ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO THE DANGERS OF LIGHTNING. GET TO SAFE HARBOR AT THE FIRST SIGN OF AN APPROACHING STORM.
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:07 UTC.
7 hail, 3 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were downed and a marina was damaged between Townsville and the Nutbush recreational area at Kerr Lake. Golfball sized hail was also reported.
Trees were blown down in the northern part of the county.
Trees were blown down and twisted, and a mobile home was destroyed.
Trees were blown down near the Franklin county line at highway 39.
A brief tornado touchdown was spotted by law enforcement.
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 historyThe tornado archive for North Carolina, 2003Warnings 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: 5355207, 5355210, 5355208, 5355209, 5355211, 5355212, 5355213, 5355214, 5355215, 5355217, 5355216, 5355218.