1 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 Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 22, 10:00 AM EST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 10 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 ...RAISING TORNADO WATCH FOR CAROLINA INLAND COUNTIES THROUGH AFTERNOON EXCEPT COLUMBUS FOR NOW... INTENSE SQUALL LINE WELL BACK OVER THE WESTERN CAROLINAS THIS MORNING...BUT CONVECTION IS POPPING OVER THE WESTERN PART OF CWA. THIS CORRESPONDS WELL WITH MORNING ETA RUN OMEGA FIELD...WHICH WILL PROGRESS ACROSS THE CWA INTO THE AFTERNOON. WINDS A FEW THOUSAND FEET WILL APPROACH 50 KTS BY LATE MORNING...60 KT THIS AFTERNOON. DESTABILIZATION WITH COASTAL TEMPERATURES IN UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S...AND SQUALL LINE SHIFTING EAST MAY WELL CAUSE ENOUGH DIRECTIONAL SHEAR FOR TORNADOES. EXPECT MAIN SQUALL LINE TO PASS THROUGH THE AREA BY 6 PM OR SO. MARINE: WINDS ARE BEGINNING TO INCREASE AT FPSN7 TO NEAR 30 KTS AND NEARSHORE TO 20 KTS. MINIMAL GALES INSIDE 20 NM FROM SHORE ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTN AS THE LOW LEVEL JET REALLY CRANKS AHEAD OF THE SQUALL LINE. (ETA SHOWS 55-65 KTS OFF THE SURFACE BY THIS AFTN) NEAR SHORE WATER TEMPS ARE NEAR THEIR COLDEST OF THE YEAR AND THE AIR OVER THE WATER IS VERY STABLE. VIS SATELLITE SHOWS SEA FOG CONTINUES NEAR SHORE AROUND MYR AND ALSO FROM WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH N TO SURF CITY. FEW CHANGES FROM CURRENT FORECAST. .ILM... .NC...TORNADO WATCH NCZ087-096- GALE WARNING SURF CITY TO LITTLE RIVER INLET. .SC...TORNADO WATCH SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039- GALE WARNING LITTLE RIVER INLET TO S SANTEE RIVER. TM/TRA
NCZ087-096-097-099>101-SCZ017-023-024-032>034-039-046-221145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 430 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND NORTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF A STRONG COLD FRONT EXPECTED TO PASS THROUGH THE EASTERN CAROLINAS TODAY. THE POTENTIAL WILL EXIST FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. IN ADDITION...STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF UP TO 25 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE DAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TODAY. KREITNER
NCZ087-096-099-SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039-221901- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1002 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM... A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA WILL QUICKLY MOVE TO THE EAST THIS MORNING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH DARLINGTON AND MARLBORO COUNTIES AROUND NOON...AND WILL CONTINUE EAST ACROSS LUMBERTON...DILLON...MARION...FLORENCE AND LAKE CITY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORMS WILL AFFECT WHITEVILLE AND ELIZABETHTOWN MAINLY AFTER 2 PM. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP OUT IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIN SQUALL LINE AND BRING THEATENING WEATHER SOONER. THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND EVEN TORNADOES. KEEP A CLOSE EYE TO THE SKY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE AREA. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...MOVE INSIDE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES...INCLUDING SEVERE WEATHER STATMENTS AND WARNINGS. && ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/ILM TRA
NCZ087-096-SCZ017-023-024-032-033-039-221900- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED UGC CODING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC 1002 AM EST SAT FEB 22 2003 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM... A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA WILL QUICKLY MOVE TO THE EAST THIS MORNING. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH DARLINGTON AND MARLBORO COUNTIES AROUND NOON...AND WILL CONTINUE EAST ACROSS LUMBERTON...DILLON...MARION...FLORENCE AND LAKE CITY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORMS WILL AFFECT WHITEVILLE AND ELIZABETHTOWN MAINLY AFTER 2 PM. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP OUT IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIN SQUALL LINE AND BRING THEATENING WEATHER SOONER. THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND EVEN TORNADOES. KEEP A CLOSE EYE TO THE SKY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE AREA. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...MOVE INSIDE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST UPDATES...INCLUDING SEVERE WEATHER STATMENTS AND WARNINGS. && ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.ERH.NOAA.GOV/ILM TRA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
0227 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0222 PM DILLON SC 60 MPH TSTORM WIND
02/22/03 DILLON POWER LINES DOWN.
43PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
0240 PM EST SAT FEB 22 2003
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0233 PM FAIRMONT NC 55 MPH TSTORM WIND
02/22/03 ROBESON
43The Wilmington radar (KLTX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:49 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Electric company reported numerous large trees down with downed power lines.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Carolina in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in South Carolina, 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: 5342234.