The following listed different types of special weather conditions worldwide.
Cold snaps and winter storms
Floods
Heat waves and droughts
Map of temperature variations in Europe in summer 2003, compared to two years prior
In the summer of 2003, there was a severe heatwave across Europe, considered the warmest summer on the continent since 1540. The heat and drought killed 72,210 people across 15 countries, making it the sixth deadliest disaster worldwide in the first two decades of the 21st century. Most of the deaths occurred in Italy and France. Several nationwide temperature records were broken during the heatwave, with a peak temperature of 44.1 °C (111.4 °F) recorded in France on August 12.[8][2][9]
There was also a heat wave across the United States from March through November that killed 35 people.[10]
Throughout the year, there were 1,374 tornadoes in the United States.[11] In a one week period in May, a severe weather outbreak produced 335 tornadoes across 26 U.S. states, which set the record for the most twisters in a single week. There were 51 deaths related to the event.[12][10]
There was two tropical cyclones active as the year began – Cyclone Zoe in the southern Pacific Ocean, which quickly transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, and Tropical Storm Delfina, which moved across Mozambique and Malawi.[13][14] There were seven named storms that developed within the South Pacific during the year. In the South-West Indian Ocean, there were 13 named storms, including a series of four simultaneous storms in February.[15][16] The strongest cyclone in 2003 was Cyclone Inigo, which in April became one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the Australian basin.[17] Inigo was one of nine named storms in the basin during the year, along with an unnamed storm.[15][16]
In the northern hemisphere, the western Pacific featured 21 named storms, including Typhoon Maemi, which was the strongest storm on record to hit South Korea, resulting in 120 deaths and damage estimated at ₩5.52 trillion won (KRW, US$4.8 billion).[5][6][18] In the northern Indian Ocean, there were five cyclonic storms, including one in May that produced flooding across Sri Lanka, killing 260 people.[3][19] The Atlantic hurricane season lasted from April to November with 16 named storms. These included Fabian and Juan, the strongest hurricanes to hit Bermuda and Nova Scotia, respectively, in several decades.[20][21][22] In the eastern Pacific, there were also 16 named storms, several of which affected Mexico.[23]
In January, high winds and lightning ignited bushfires in Canberra, Australia's capital city, which burned 70% of the territory's nature areas before being contained. The fires killed four people and caused 435 injuries.[24] Throughout the northern hemisphere summer, wildfires burned 10% of Portugal's territory, killing 19 people.[25]
Extratropical cyclones and other weather systems
Timeline
This is a timeline of deadly weather events during 2003.
January
December 2002 to February 2003 – An ongoing cold wave affected southern India, with more than 740 deaths related to cold temperatures in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.[26]
January 8–21 – Bushfires in Canberra, Australia's capital city, killed four people and caused 435 injuries. The fires also burned 70% of the territory's nature areas.[24]
January 9–15 – Cyclone Ami moved through Fiji, killing 14 people.[27]
January 19–February 5 – Cyclone Beni trekked through the South Pacific for 18 days, eventually dissipating offshore the Australian state of Queensland. There was one death related to Beni.[27]
January 21 – Intense rainfall produced flooding in Bolivia's capital, La Paz, killing four people.[28]
February
February 5–15 – Cyclone Gerry passed near Mauritius, killing one person.[29]
February 25–March 6 – Cyclone Japhet struck Mozambique and crossed into Zimbabwe, killing 25 people.[29][31][32]
February 27–March 1 – Cyclone Graham moved ashore western Australia, resulting in one fatality.[33]
March
March 1–November 30 – A heat wave across the United States killed 35 people and resulted in US$5 billion in agriculture losses.[10]
March 1–17 – Cyclone Erica hit New Caledonia, killing two people.[34]
March 30–April 8 – Cyclone Inigo developed over Indonesia, causing at least 50 fatalities. It later became one of the most intense cyclones in the region, before weakening and striking Western Australia.[17]
May 2–13 – Cyclone Manou brushed southeastern Madagascar, resulting in 89 deaths.[40]
May 3–10 – A severe weather outbreak in the eastern half of the United States killed 51 people. With 335 tornadoes across 26 U.S. states, the outbreak set the record for the most twisters in a single week. Damage totaled US$4.1 billion.[10][12]
May 10–20 – A very severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal produced significant rainfall across Sri Lanka. Destructive floods killed 260 people and displaced about 800,000 people.[19][3][41]
May 25–June 2 – Tropical Storm Linfa developed west of the Philippines and later moved through Japan, causing 41 fatalities.[42]
June
June–August – A heatwave across Europe, considered the hottest since 1540, killed 72,210 people, particularly across France and Italy.[2][8]
June 11–24 – Typhoon Soudelor moved from the Philippine Sea and eventually passed between South Korea and Japan, causing 14 deaths along its path.[43][44]
June 29–July 3 – Tropical Storm Bill moved ashore the U.S. state of Louisiana and produced a tornado outbreak across the southeastern United States. There were four deaths related to the storm.[47]
July
July 8–17 – Hurricane Claudette moved through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico before striking the U.S. state of Texas, causing three deaths.[48]
Mid to late July – Heavy rainfall produced widespread flooding in Sudan, killing 12 people.[49]
July 15–23 – Tropical Storm Koni traversed the Philippines, southern China, and Vietnam, resulting in five fatalities.[50]
July 15–25 – Typhoon Imbudo made landfall in the northern Philippines and later the Chinese province of Guangdong, killing 85 people.[51][52][53]
July 31–August 4 – Tropical Storm Morakot hit Taiwan and southeastern China, resulting in three fatalities.[54]
August
August 2–9 – Typhoon Etau developed near the Federated States of Micronesia and later struck Japan, causing 20 deaths.[55]
August 13–26 – Typhoon Krovanh hit the northern Philippines and southern China, resulting in four fatalities.[56][57][58]
August 14–14 – Hurricane Erika hit northeastern Mexico, with two people killed by floodwaters.[59]
August 22–27 – Hurricane Ignacio struck Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, killing four people. Ignacio was the first hurricane of the annual season, the latest date for the season's first hurricane since reliable satellite observation began in 1966.[60][61]
August 24 – A squall with gale-force winds struck The Gambia, killing two people and damaging hundreds of buildings.[62]
August 27–September 3 – Typhoon Dujuan struck the Chinese province of Guangdong while also affecting the Philippines and Taiwan, resulting in 44 deaths.[63][56]
August 27–September 10 – Hurricane Fabian became the strongest hurricane to hit Bermuda since 1963, while also producing high waves along the eastern coastline of North America. Fabian caused eight deaths as well as US$300 million in damage, the most destructive storm on Bermuda since 1926.[20][64]
September 5–16 – Typhoon Maemi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in South Korea since records began in 1904. Maemi also affected Japan, with 120 fatalities along its path.[5][6]
September 6–20 – Hurricane Isabel became a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale before weakening and striking the U.S. state of North Carolina, resulting in 51 deaths across the eastern United States.[65]
September 18–24 – Hurricane Marty hit Mexico's Baja California peninsula, killing 12 people.[66]
September 24–29 – Hurricane Juan made landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit Halifax since 1893. Juan killed eight people across Atlantic Canada.[21]
October 29–November 5 – Severe Tropical Storm Melor, known locally as Viring, moved through the Philippines, causing four fatalities.[71]
November
November 2 – Flash floods in Indonesia killed at least 180 people in the tourist town of Bukit Lawang, after 450 buildings were swept away.[4][72][73]
November 11–19 – Typhoon Nepartak, known locally as Weng, crossed the central Philippines, killing 13 people.[74]
November 14– December – Floods in the Dominican Republic killed at least ten people.[75]
December
December – Monsoonal floods killed more than 200 people in the Philippines.[76]
December – Intense rainfall across Colombia produced flash floods and landslides that killed 42 deaths.[77]
December 4–9 – Tropical Storm Odette caused ten fatalities when it struck the Dominican Republic. Odette was the first recorded December Atlantic tropical storm in the Caribbean.[78]
December 11–16 – A cyclonic storm made landfall in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, resulting in 83 fatalities.[19]
December 20–22 – Floods in Haiti killed 38 people.[79]
^ ab"2003". ibtracs.unca.edu. Storms by Year and Basin. IBTrACS - International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
^ ab"2004". ibtracs.unca.edu. Storms by Year and Basin. IBTrACS - International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
^ abFogarty, Chris (2003). "Hurricane Juan Storm Summary"(PDF). Canadian Hurricane Centre. Environment Canada. Archived(PDF) from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2006.
^Miles B. Lawrence; Lixion A. Avila; John L. Beven; James L. Franklin; Richard J. Pasch; Stacy R. Stewart (June 1, 2005). "Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2003". Monthly Weather Review.
^Water Resources of Korea(PDF) (Report). Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. September 27, 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
^Staff Writer (June 30, 2003). "Tropical Storm Carlos kills seven in Mexico". Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
^Staff Writer (June 23, 2003). "Tropical Storm Carlos dissipates after causing minor damage along Mexico's southern Pacific coast". Associated Press.
^Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. "Trop. Storm "Gilas"". Tropical Cyclone Track. Manila, Philippines: Philippine Department of Science and Technology. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
^ abTropical Cyclones in 2003(PDF) (Report). Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Observatory. April 2004. pp. 26, 50–56. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 30, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
^"Two die in Typhoon Krovanh rampage". Guangzhou, China. Xinhua News Agency. August 25, 2003.
^"Typhoon Kronvanh kills one, injures five in Vietnam". Vietnam. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. August 26, 2003.
^Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil: Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (March 2004). Informe de la Temporada de Ciclones Tropicales del 2003(PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). El Secretario de Gobernación de Mexico. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
^Destructive Typhoons 1970-2003 (Report). National Disaster Coordinating Council Office of Civil Defense Operations Center. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
^Tropical Storm Weng (Report). Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
^Colombia: Floods - Information Bulletin n° 1 (Report). International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies. December 16, 2003. ReliefWeb. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
^Haiti: Floods - Information Bulletin n° 2 (Report). International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies. December 29, 2003. ReliefWeb. Retrieved November 18, 2023.