Scattered thunderstorms with torrential rain caused localized flooding across west central and central Ohio during the late afternoon and evening, causing several roads to flood and small creeks and streams to briefly rise out of their banks.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 episode as NWS ILN wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms with torrential rain caused localized flooding across west central and central Ohio during the late afternoon and evening, causing several roads to flood and small creeks and streams to briefly rise out of their banks.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 13, 2:39 PM EST, 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 3380 PM EDT FRI JUN 13 2003 SHORTWAVE OVER LOWER OHIO VALLEY EJECTS OUT TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. MODELS HAVE BEEN OVER DOING THE POPS THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS...SO WILL KEEP EVERYTHING IN THE CHANCE CATEGORY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. THE GFS CONTINUES TO HAVE CONVECTIVE PROBLEMS AS IT SPINS UP VORT OUT OF NOW WERE...PRODUCING BULLSEYS OF QPF. PREFER THE SMOOTHER ETA FOR THIS RUN. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY AS THE SHORTWAVE/WEAK SURFACE LOW MOVES THROUGH. DRIER MORE STABLE AIR WORKS IN BEHIND FRONT FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. DEWPOINTS ARE AROUND 70 RIGHT NOW. SURFACE LOW REMAINS TO THE WEST...SO WILL GO A LITTLE ABOVE GUIDANCE LOWS TONIGHT. MAV HIGHS LOOK TOO COOLER SAT AND SUN BASED ON 850 TEMPS AND EXPECTED CLOUD COVER. WILL GO UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 SAT AND LOWER 80S WITH FULL SUN ON SUNDAY. CLEMISILN OUT SHORTLY. .ILN...NONE. SITES
INZ050-058-059-066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ034-035-042>046-051>056- 060>065-070>074-077>082-088-131145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 545 AM EDT FRI JUN 13 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN INDIANA...NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF OHIO. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:38 UTC.
3 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two men were injured when lightning struck a tree that they were standing under. The men, aged 22 and 24, had been fishing at a nearby pond and were waiting out the storm underneath the tree.
Several trees were downed along State Route 31.
A trailer park was evacuated as water rose to two to three feet deep. Several motorists were stranded in their cars by high water on Yearling Road.
A trailer park was flooded forcing several evacuations. A gravel parking lot flooded at National Trail Raceway near Kirkersville, trapping several automobiles.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, June 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: 5362521, 5362515, 5362514, 5362520, 5362516, 5362517, 5362518, 5362519.