Hurricane History Map

2003 North Atlantic season

21 storms formed in the North Atlantic basin in 2003, from 18 April 2003 to 11 December 2003.

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Years2003
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

The 2003 season in numbers

The record holds 21 storms for the 2003 North Atlantic season, of which 16 had names.16 reached tropical storm strength (34 knots or more), 7 reached hurricane strength (category 1 or more) and 3 were major (category 3 or more).

  • 21storms
  • 16tropical storm strength or more
  • 7hurricane strength or more
  • 3major (category 3 to 5)
  • 176accumulated cyclone energy

Accumulated cyclone energy adds up the squared wind speed of every position of 34 knots or more, divided by 10,000. It is approximate here because the winds are 1-minute equivalents, and it is mostly useful for comparing seasons of one basin.

Strongest storms of 2003

  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Fabian (2003)27 August 2003 to 9 September 2003, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 939 hPa
  • Kate (2003)25 September 2003 to 10 October 2003, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 952 hPa
  • Juan (2003)24 September 2003 to 29 September 2003, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 969 hPa
  • Claudette (2003)7 July 2003 to 17 July 2003, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 982 hPa

All 21 storms of 2003

StormPeak
Ana Tropical storm
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Bill Tropical storm
Claudette Category 1
Danny Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Erika Category 1
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Fabian Category 4
Grace Tropical storm
Henri Tropical storm
Isabel Category 5
Unnamed storm Tropical depression
Juan Category 2
Kate Category 3
Larry Tropical storm
Mindy Tropical storm
Nicholas Tropical storm
Odette Tropical storm
Peter Tropical storm

← 2002 · 2004 → · All seasons

Other basins in 2003

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