Widespread flooding, road closures, damage, evacuations.
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 episode as NWS MRX wrote it up.
Widespread flooding, road closures, damage, evacuations.
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 Morristown, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 5, 10:00 PM EST, 2 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 1100 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 THE FOLLOWING ARE ALL THE FORECAST DISCUSSIONS FROM THE PAST 24 HOURS...WITH THE MOST RECENT ON TOP. THIS PROVIDES A HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRENT FORECAST. ********************************************************************* LATE EVENING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE) 1100 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 SVR THREAT CONTINUES TO DECREASE LATE THIS EVENING AS STABILITY INCREASES ACROSS FA. WILL UPDATE TO REMOVE MENTION OF SVR TSRA. ********************************************************************* EVENING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE) 855 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 CURRENT FCST ON TRACK AS SVR STORMS CONTINUE TO DRIVE E ACROSS W/MID TN INTO E TN. BELIEVE MAIN THREAT WITH STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL. AREA OF PRECIP GENERATING AHD OF S/WV PUSHING E TWD MS RVR. FLOOD WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT AS CONVECTION CONTINUES TO TRAIN ACROSS FA THIS EVENING AND ADDITIONAL SHRA/TSRA WILL FORM ACROSS TN VLY AND SPREAD NE INTO FA LATER TONITE. ********************************************************************* AFTERNOON FORECAST DISCUSSION 315 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS A SERIES OF WAVES TRANSLATE TOWARD THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. NEXT WAVE APPROACHES LATER TONIGHT WITH WIDESPREAD CONVECTION. EXPECT THIS TO BE A WIDE SPREAD PRECIP EVENT AND WILL RAISE POPS TO CATEGORICAL FA-WIDE. COULD HAVE ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER ALSO. AM ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING AND WILL ISSUE FFA FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. WILL ALLOW WIND ADVISORY TO EXPIRE HOWEVER. BRIEF RESPITE PROJECTED FOR THE SECOND HALF OF TUESDAY AS UPPER LEVELS DRY OUT. STILL ENOUGH INSTABILITY WILL REMAIN FOR AN ISOLATED SEVERE WEATHER CONCERN FOR TOMORROW AFTERNOON. ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION APPROACHES TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. SOME TIMING DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE MODELS LOWERS CONFIDENCE IN THE EVENT SOMEWHAT. TEND TO FAVOR BLEND OF GUIDANCE NUMBERS FOR POPS. AS FOR TEMPS...GUIDANCE NUMBERS ARE GENERALLY CLOSE AND APPEAR REASONABLE. AM INCLINED TO GO WITH A BLEND. EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS AND ENSEMBLES ARE IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE GENERAL UPPER AIR FLOW THIS RUN. RIDGE OVER THE EAST WILL BECOME RE-ESTABLISHED IN RESPONSE TO A TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE WESTERN CONUS. EVEN WITH RIDGING ALOFT...ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND A MEANDERING SURFACE BOUNDARY OVER OUR GENERAL AREA WILL KEEP THINGS SOMEWHAT UNSETTLED. TEMPS WILL AVERAGE ABOVE TO WELL ABOVE CLIMATOLOGY AS HIGHER-THAN-NORMAL HEIGHTS ACCOMPANY THE RIDGE. GENERALLY STAYED CLOSE TO GFS MOS GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS. PRELIMINARY NUMBERS FOLLOW: CHA 66 80 66 82 / 90 80 50 60 TYS 65 78 64 81 / 90 90 40 60 TRI 60 77 60 77 / 90 80 40 60 OQT 65 78 65 81 / 90 80 40 60 .MRX... NC...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY FOR ZONES NCZ060>061. WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON FOR ZONES NCZ060>061. TN...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY FOR ZONES TNZ012>018... TNZ035>047...TNZ067>074...TNZ081>087...TNZ098>102. LCM ********************************************************************* LATE MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE) 1120 AM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 ISSUED QUICK ZONE UPDATE TO INCLUDE WIND ADVISORY AS AREA VAD WIND PROFILES SHOW VERY STRONG LOW-LEVEL JET. SHOULD GET SOME OF THIS WIND TO THE SURFACE AS MIXING OCCURS THIS AFTERNOON. LCM ********************************************************************* LATE MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION (UPDATE) 955 AM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 WILL UPDATE ZONES FOR RE-ISSUED TORNADO WATCH. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGES PLANNED AT THIS TIME OTHER THAN SOME WORDING TWEAKS. LCM ********************************************************************* EARLY MORNING FORECAST DISCUSSION 415 AM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A WARM FRONT MOVING ACROSS EAST TN THIS MORNING ALLOWING MOIST AIR TO POUR INTO THE AREA. FAIRLY HIGH INSTABILITY ALONG WITH SOME SHEAR WILL ALLOW FOR THE FORMATION OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ACROSS THE CWA THIS MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SPC HAS THE AREA IN SLIGHT RISK ATTM...BUT SEVERE WX IN MIDDLE TN IS MOVING TOWARDS THE CWA...REACHING THE WESTERN EDGE BY SUNRISE. HIGH WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND SOME TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THE STORMS IN MIDDLE TN. THE REST OF THE WEEK LOOKS VERY WET THRU FRI AS THE CONTINUED SOUTHWEST FLOW BRINGS MULTIPLE SYSTEMS THRU THE TN VALLEY. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ACROSS THE PLAINS STATES JUST DOES NOT WANT TO BUDGE...MAYBE SOME HOPE FOR THE WEEKEND WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE AFTN AND EVENING HOURS AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST. PRELIM NUMBERS FOR COORDINATION ONLY: CHA 79 66 81 65 / 90 80 80 50 TYS 77 65 78 63 / 90 80 80 40 TRI 72 60 77 59 / 90 70 80 40 OQT 76 65 78 64 / 90 80 80 40 BS *********************************************************************
NCZ060-061-TNZ012>018-035>047-067>074-081>087-098>102-VAZ001-002-005- 006-008-061000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN 920 PM EDT MON MAY 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST TENNESSEE... SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE (TONIGHT)... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAINFALL...DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. .DAY TWO THROUGH SEVEN (TUESDAY THROUGH MONDAY)... A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL BRING A CONTINUED SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY INTO THE WEEKEND. THE NEXT BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED TONIGHT AND AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY... WHILE ACTIVITATION MAY BE NEEDED THE OTHER DAYS THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK. PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MRX. DMG
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
716 PM EDT MON MAY 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0700 PM 2W PIKEVILLE TN WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 BLEDSOE TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY
30W. REPORTED BY
SHERIFFS DISPATCH.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
756 PM EDT MON MAY 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0700 PM KNOXVILLE TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 KNOX KINGSTON PIKE AT GLEASON
ROAD UNDERWATER WITH THE
ROAD CLOSED. REPORTED BY
AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR.
0720 PM COUNTY WIDE TN WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 ROANE TREES DOWN COUNTYWIDE.
REPORTED BY SHERIFFS
DISPATCH.
0730 PM COUNTY WIDE TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 BLOUNT STREAMS AND CREEKS
FLOODING ACROSS MUCH OF
THE COUNTY AND HIGH WATER
PROBLEMS IN MANY AREAS.
REPORTED BY SHERIFFS
DISPATCH.
0736 PM COUNTY WIDE TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 ROANE STREAMS AND CREEKS
FLOODING OVER MUCH OF THE
COUNTY AND MANY AREAS
HAVING HIGH WATER
PROBLEMS. REPORTED BY
SHERIFFS DISPATCH.
0738 PM COUNTY WIDE TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 MORGAN SMALL STREAMS FLOODING
ACROSS MUCH OF THE COUNTY
AND HIGH WATER PROBLEMS
IN MANY AREAS. REPORTED
BY SHERIFFS DISPATCH.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
959 PM EDT MON MAY 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0930 PM COUNTY WIDE TN WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 MONROE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY MONROE
SHERIFFS OFFICE.
0930 PM COUNTY WIDE TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 MONROE NUMEROUS COUNTY ROADS
FLOODED. REPORTED BY
MONROE SHERIFFS OFFICE.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN
1049 PM EDT MON MAY 05 2003
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0900 PM LOUDON TN FLASH FLOOD
05/05/03 LOUDON NUMEROUS ROADS FLOODED.
MUDSLIDES. REPORTED BY
LOUDON SHERIFFS OFFICE.
0910 PM COUNTY WIDE TN WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 MCMINN NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY MCMINN
SHERIFFS OFFICE.
0915 PM COUNTY WIDE TN WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 POLK NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY POLK
SHERIFFS OFFICE.
1000 PM HIWASSEE DAM NC WIND DAMAGE
05/05/03 CHEROKEE A FEW TREES DOWN.
REPORTED BY CHEROKEE
SHERIFFS OFFICE.The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:02 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread flooding, road closures, damage, evacuations.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, 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: 5356275.