A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front on the 5th and caused widespread wind damage and some flash flooding from Northern Virginia to Eastern Maryland. Sporadic road closures were reported in Loudoun County and flash flooding led to water rescues in Fairfax County.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 LWX wrote it up.
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front on the 5th and caused widespread wind damage and some flash flooding from Northern Virginia to Eastern Maryland. Sporadic road closures were reported in Loudoun County and flash flooding led to water rescues in Fairfax County. Some areas received over 2 inches of rain. A new daily record rainfall was reported at Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County for the 5th.
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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 5, 10:00 AM EST, 4 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1000 AM EST WED NOV 5 2003 BACK DOOR FRONT STRETCHES FROM NEAR MARTINSBURG TO ANNAPOLIS. FRONT IS SHOWING SIGNS OF PUSHING NWARD. MARTINSBURG WHICH WAS IN THE SOUP FOR A FEW HOURS THIS MORINING HAS NOW BROKEN OUT. MODELS CONTINUE TREND TO DISSIPATE FRONT OVER NNE ZONES AND HAVE IT GONE BY EARLY AFT FAR NE. REST OF CWA IN WARM SECTOR AND BREAKS IN CLDS ARE SHOWING UP. AREA OF PRECIP ASSOC WITH THE LIFT AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING FRONT HAS PUSHED INTO NW ZONES. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW LIFT PUSHING SLOWLY SE INTO CWA THRU THE DAY. EXPECT SCT SHRA TO BECOME MORE NUMEROUS AS THE DAY GOES ON. WILL CONTINUE OCCASIONAL SHRA FCST. HAVE OPTED TO ADD CHANCE TSRA S ZONES DUE TO LIS FORECAST NEAR -1 THIS AFT AND BREAKS IN CLDS NOW. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOW SOME CAPE BY THIS AFT ALSO SUPPORTING THE POSSIBILITY OF SCT THUNDER. OVER NW AND NC ZONES WILL HAVE SLIGHT CHANCE TSRA...BUT IT WILL ALL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH SUN THEY SEE. NE ZONES SHUD BE MOSTLY CLOUDY...INHIBITING TSRA POSSIBILITY. WITH BREAKS IN THE CLDS...TEMPS WARMING A BIT MORE THAN FCST. WILL UPDATE TO RAISE HIGHS TODAY BASED ON CURRENT CONDITIONS. MMARGRAF ---------------------225 AM FORECAST DISCUSSION------------ .SHORT TERM...TODAY AND TNGT... THE WARM WX OF THE PAST FEW DAYS IS COMING TO AND END. BACKDOOR CDFNT HAS PUSHED THRU THE ERN 3/4 OF THE CWFA EARLY THIS MORN BRINGING MARINE LYR WITH A SOLID LOW OVC. A CDFNT OVR THE GTLKS WL CONT TO MOVE E TODAY REACHING WRN ZNS TNGT. BROAD WAA ABV THE MARINE LYR AHEAD OF THIS SYS SUGGESTS INCRSG CHC FOR PCPN AS THE DAY WEARS ON. OVRALL PCPN CHCS TODAY ARE FAIRLY HIGH. THOUGH NO ONE FEATURE CONTRIBUTES TO STG FORCING THE COMBINATION OF SVRL FACTORS XPCTD TO COMBINE TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD PCPN. UPR DIVERGENCE INCREASES TODAY AHEAD OF AN APCHG UPR SPEED MAX. F VECTORS SHOWING VERT MOTION RESPONDS TO FRONTOGENETIC FORCING...ESP IN NRN ZNS TODAY AND TNGT. Q-VECTORS AND LYRD DPVA ALSO POINT TO INCRSG VERT MOTION THIS AFTN/THIS EVE. THAT SAID...HIGH POPS FOR TODAY AND TNGT. PCPN STARTS TO TAPER OFF FM W TO E AS CDFNT APCHS. TEMPS PROBLEMATIC TODAY WITH THE MARINE LYR OVR THE AREA...AND HV GONE SVRL DEG BLO GUIDANCE FOR TODAY...KEEPING THE COOLING TREND OVNGT. && .AVIATION... IFR/LIFR AT MOST TAF SITES EARLY THIS MORN. LOW CLDS WL BE PROBLEMATIC TODAY. PRIND THAT VIS SHOULD IMPRV BY MID-LATE MORN AS INCRSG SLY FLOW TAKES OVR. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM REMAINS HOW HIGH TO GO WITH CIGS TODAY. CONDITIONAL CLIMO SUGGESTS THAT THE HARD IFR CIGS WL CONT THRU AT LEAST 15-16Z TIMEFRAME. BEYOND THAT IS QUESTIONABLE. FOR NOW WL KEEP WITH AN OPTIMISTIC MVFR FCST FOR THE AFTN DETEORIATING AGAIN THIS EVE. WL TAKE ANOTHER LOOK B4 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. MANNING && .LONG TERM...THU-TUES... CDFNT AND PCPN MAY BE SLOW IN GETTING OUT OF THE REGION UNTIL LATER THURSDAY SO WILL KEEP 40-60 POPS ALL DAY. DRY AND COLDER AIRMASS PUSHES IN THURSDAY NIGHT. SO WILL HAVE DRYING CONDITIONS BEGINNING LATER ON THU AND THU NIGHT. THEN DRY AND COOL AIR MASS IN PLACE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SFC HIGH SHIFTS OFFSHORE MON WITH SLOW WARMING TREND. THE NEXT SYSTEM IS PROGGED TO AFFECT THE AREA MON INTO TUE BUT WILL ONLY HAVE HIDDEN 20 POPS FOR NOW. && .LWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... DC...NONE. MD...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. MARINE...NONE.
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042- 050>057-WVZ048>055-061000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1230 PM EST WED NOV 5 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE... HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .DAY TWO THROUGH SEVEN... HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. STRONG
VAZ031-041-042-052-052030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 235 PM EST WED NOV 5 2003 AT 2:35 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 7 MILES WEST OF HILLSBORO TO BLUEMONT TO PARIS TO 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF MARKHAM...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. THE COMMUNITIES OF ASHBURN...DELAPLANE...HAYMARKET...LEESBURG...MIDDLEBURG... PURCELLVILLE...ROUND HILL...THE PLAINS...ARCOLA AND BLUEMONT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THESE STORMS THROUGH 3:30 PM. RESIDENTS IN THESE LOCATIONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR A POSSIBLE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING. ROGOWSKI
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 34 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:47 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree and power lines down at Route 50 and Green Garden Road.
Roads closed due to flooding.
Sporadic road closures due to flooding.
Flooded streams and roads lead to water rescues.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Virginia in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, November 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: 5379993, 5379994, 5380013, 5380014.