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MARCH 2003 VOLUME 45 NUMBER 3 SSTORMTORM DDATAATA AND UNUSUAL WEATHER PHENOMENA WITH LATE REPORTS AND CORRECTIONS NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION noaa NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA CENTER, ASHEVILLE, NC Cover: An intense and slow-moving Pacifi c storm system moved across the four-corners area from March 17 to the 19th which brought an easterly upslope snow event along the Front Range. The heavy wet snow caused roofs of homes and businesses to collapse across the Urban Corridor and ava- lanches in the mountains. Some snowfall totals ranged from 3 ft. to over 7 ft. (87.5 inches at Fritz Peak)! (Photo courtesy and ©: Mary J. Brodzik, Nederland, CO and Colorado Climate Center.) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Outstanding Storm of the Month …..…………….….........……..…………..…….…..…..... 4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena ....…….…....………..……...........…............. 5 Additiona/Corrections ....................................................................................................................... 160 Reference Notes .............……...........................……….........…..……............................................... 176 STORM DATA (ISSN 0039-1972) National Climatic Data Center Editor: William Angel Assistant Editors: Stuart Hinson and Rhonda Mooring STORM DATA is prepared, and distributed by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena narratives and Hurricane/Tropical Storm summaries are prepared by the National Weather Service. Monthly and annual statistics and summaries of tornado and lightning events re- sulting in deaths, injuries, and damage are compiled by the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. STORM DATA contains all confi rmed information on storms available to our staff at the time of publication. Late reports and corrections will be printed in each edition. Except for limited editing to correct grammatical errors, the data in Storm Data are published as received. Note: “None Reported” means that no severe weather occurred and “Not Received” means that no reports were re- ceived for this region at the time of printing. Subscription, pricing, and ordering information is available from: NCDC Subscription Services 310 State Route 956 Building 300 Rocket Center, WV 26726 (866) 742-3322 Toll Free The editor of STORM DATA solicit your help in acquiring photographs (prints or slides; black and white, or color), maps, clippings, etc. of signifi cant or severe weather events (past or present) for use in the “Outstanding Storms of the Month’’ section of STORM DATA. We request our subscribers or other interested persons to mail such items to: Storm Data National Climatic Data Center 151 Patton Avenue Asheville, NC 28801 e-mail: [email protected] Any such items received by the editor will be for use in STORM DATA only. Any other use will be with the permis- sion of the owner of said items. Materials will be returned if requested. This is an offi cial publication of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is compiled from information received at the National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina 28801-2733. Thomas R. Karl Director, National Climatic Data Center 2 March 2003 Confirmed Tornadoes 3 F Scale F 0 F 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F Scale F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total Number 27 13 2 1 0 0 43 OUTSTANDING STORMS OF THE MONTH THERE IS NO “OUTSTANDING STORM OF THE MONTH” FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2003. 4 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena Time Path Path Number of Estimated March 2003 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central Sumter County Geiger 05 1549CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (0.75) Penny size hail was observed near Geiger. Sumter County Livingston 05 1832CST 0 0 5K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Several trees and power lines were blown down in and around Livingston. Bibb County 2 S Lawley 05 1944CST 0 0 2K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Several trees and power lines were blown down near US 82 along the Bibb and Chilton County line. Chilton County Countywide 05 1950CST 0 0 12K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G55) 2005CST Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down across the county. The most concentrated areas of damage were along US 82 north of Maplesville, just north of Isabella, west of Clanton on Highway 22, and near Collins Chapel. Alabama Power estimated that up to 1500 customers were temporarily without power in Chilton County. Coosa County 5 W Weogufka 05 2010CST 0 0 2K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G55) 2017CST Several trees and power lines were blown down across western Coosa County. The damage was mainly confined to rural areas. Randolph County Roanoke 05 2111CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (1.00) Penny to quarter size hail was reported in and around Roanoke. Chambers County 3 W Welch 05 2112CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (0.75) Penny size hail was observed in extreme northern Chambers County near US 431. Blount County Countywide 06 0230CST 0 0 8K 0 Flash Flood 0330CST Several roadways across the county were temporarily impassable because of flooding conditions. Some roads that were flooded include CR 42 at Murphys Valley, Center Springs Road near Locust Fork, Highway 79 in Cleveland, CR 1 in Cleveland, House Road in Oneonta, and Sibleyville Road in Hayden. Calhoun County .1 W White Plains to 06 0248CST 3.1 250 0 3 200K 0 Tornado (F1) 3.1 ENE White Plains 0251CST Cleburne County 8.3 NW Edwardsville to 06 0251CST 5.9 250 0 0 0 12K Tornado (F1) 4.8 NW Edwardsville 0257CST Alabama's second tornado of 2003 touched down in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 6, and affected portions of eastern Calhoun and western Cleburne counties. No deaths and only three minor injuries were reported with this tornado. The tornado first touched down in the White Plains community of Calhoun County, just west of the intersection of SR-9 and Cottaquilla Road. Damage at this location was light and scattered consisting mainly of downed trees and damaged roofs. From there, the tornado traveled east-northeast across SR-9 and County Road 55, where it caused considerable damage to greenhouses at a nursery business as well as chicken houses and other farm structures. The tornado then moved through open country for about a mile and a half continuing to uproot trees before destroying a mobile home on Chinch Creek Road. From there, the tornado moved eastward into a wooded area of Cleburne County, across Rattlesnake Mountain, causing sporadic tree damage until it lifted about a half mile east of the Shoal Creek Picnic area. The tornado destroyed two homes and damaged 21 others according to EMA and Red Cross damage assessments. Alabama Power reported that 250 people were without power. The tornado was rated an F1, mainly based on the amount of damage done to a mobile home on Chinch Creek Road. The tornado path length was about 8.9 miles. The average damage path width directly associated with the tornado was 100-200 yards, although peripheral damage occurred up to a half mile south of center of the tornado path. Begin: 33 45.200/ 85 41.468 End: 33 46.290/85 32.700 1 5 Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena Time Path Path Number of Estimated March 2003 Local/ Length Width Persons Damage Location Date Standard (Miles) (Yards) Killed Injured Property Crops Character of Storm ALABAMA, Central Shelby County Westover 06 0315CST 0 0 2K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees and power lines were blown down near Westover. Shelby County Wilsonville 06 0317CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (0.75) Penny size hail fell near Wilsonville. Shelby County 1 SE Calera 06 0320CST 0 0 1K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees were blown down on the east side of Interstate 65 near Calera. Clay County Highland 06 0400CST 0 0 2K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Trees and power lines were blown down in the Highland area. Clay County 3 N Lineville 06 0410CST 0 0 2K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees and power lines were knocked down near Lineville. One tree fell on a roof causing minor damage. Elmore County Eclectic 06 0545CST 0 0 3K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Trees were knocked down on Pleasant Hill Road and on Colley Road in Eclectic. Tallapoosa County Reeltown 06 0625CST 0 0 3K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Trees were blown down on Lovelady Road in Reeltown. Pike County 1 W Goshen to 09 0430CST 0 0 8K 0 Hail (1.75) 4 E Goshen 0440CST Penny to golf ball size hail pounded areas in and around Goshen. Several locations reported the hail covering the ground. One mobile home suffered minor damage. Lowndes County 4 W Ft Deposit to 09 0735CST 0 0 5K 0 Hail (1.75) 2 E Ft Deposit 0742CST Penny to golf ball size hail fell in and near Fort Deposit. Montgomery County 4 SW Ramer 09 0805CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (0.75) Penny size hail fell in extreme southern Montgomery County near the Crenshaw and Montgomery County line. Lowndes County Ft Deposit 09 0836CST 0 0 0 0 Hail (0.75) Pea to penny size hail was observed near Fort Deposit. Autauga County Countywide 13 1450CST 0 0 5K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees and power lines were blown down along US 31. A few more trees were knocked down just north of Prattville. Elmore County 5 E Wetumpka 13 1515CST 0 0 1K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) A few trees were blown down near Wetumpka. Pea size hail also fell during the storm. Tallapoosa County Newsite 13 1527CST 0 0 3K 0 Thunderstorm Wind (G50) Several trees were blown down along SR 49.