The second storm of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season, Bill developed from a tropical wave on June 29 to the north of the Yucatán Peninsula.

It slowly organized as it moved northward, and reached a peak of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) shortly before making landfall in south-central Louisiana.

A tropical wave developed scattered convection in the central Caribbean Sea on June 24, while interacting with an upper-level low.

[2] Late on June 27, the convection became slightly better organized around a broad low pressure area, though land interaction prevented further development as it moved towards the Yucatán Peninsula.

[3] The area of low pressure became better defined over the central Yucatán Peninsula, and after the system turned to the northwest, convection quickly organized while located over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

On June 29, following the development of a closed circulation, the system organized into Tropical Depression Three while located about 40 miles (64 km) north of Progreso, Yucatán.

Operationally, the National Hurricane Center did not begin issuing advisories until it attained tropical storm status.

Bill remained a tropical cyclone as it moved through the southeast United States,[4] until it became attached to an approaching cold front on July 2 near the Tennessee–Virginia border.

As a more northward motion occurred, the watch was canceled and replaced with a tropical storm warning from High Island, Texas, to Pascagoula, Mississippi.

[10] The American Red Cross mobilized workers and brought food, water, and other supplies to Louisiana prior to the storm's arrival.

[12] Officials in Mississippi ordered the evacuation of flood-prone areas in anticipation for a moderate storm surge and above-normal tides.

[16] The outer bands of Bill dropped light rain across southeastern Texas, peaking at 1.07 inches (27 mm) in Jamaica Beach.

In the state, the maximum reported surge was 5.8 feet (1.8 m), and it occurred at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium facility in Chauvin.

[21] The storm surge affected numerous low-lying cities in southeastern Louisiana by flooding roadways,[19] including the only road to Grand Isle, stranding residents and visitors.

[23] A short-lived F1 tornado touched down in Reserve, striking a private high school, where it destroyed half of one classroom and damaged several others.

[22] The storm dropped moderate to heavy amounts of precipitation, peaking at 10.2 inches (260 mm) at a location 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Folsom.

Tropical Storm Bill dropped moderate to heavy rainfall across the state, peaking at 9.49 inches (241 mm) in Van Cleave.

[30] As Tropical Storm Bill made landfall on Louisiana, its effects were felt in the Alabama coast as well, as heavy surf and tidal flooding pounded the coastline of the state.

Due to wet conditions for months preceding the storm, rainfall from Bill led to flash flooding in many counties.

The deluge led to overflown rivers and streams, and left several roadways temporarily impassable from high floodwaters.

A small tornado with a width of only 180 feet (55 m), it moved to the northwest and tore down a few trees that fell onto a mobile home, a house, and two cars.

[38] Along the Florida Panhandle, Bill dropped over 8 inches (200 mm) of rain as it made landfall,[42] closing several roads[43] or leaving them impassable due to flooding.

[42] A stationary line of thunderstorms in Okaloosa County produced downpours of up to 6 inches (150 mm) in one hour, resulting in flash flooding which washed out a portion of a bridge.

[44] In Bay County, heavy rainfall and flooding damaged 40 homes, while several residents in an apartment in Parker needed to be rescued by boat from the floodwaters.

[48] Rainfall resulted in flooding in numerous locations around the Atlanta metropolitan area, leaving some roads impassable or closed.

[14] An F1 tornado touched down 3 miles (4.8 km) north-northeast of Pennington; first it passed through a farm, causing severe damage to two dairy sheds, a John Deere tractor, and three metal storage buildings.

As it entered a more urban area, it downed 30 isolated trees, some of which fell on a portion of Interstate 20, temporarily closing the roadway.

[56] The storm produced heavy rainfall in the northern portion of the state, with some locations reporting over 7 inches (180 mm).

[47] Bill produced light to moderate precipitation in the Mid-Atlantic, including over 5 inches (130 mm) in central Virginia.