Heat, Caroline
- When
- March 1, 12:01 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Caroline forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.872, -75.832 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Maryland, March 1 to 2, 1997
A persistent west to southwest flow of air throughout the Eastern United States brought unseasonably warm air into the Maryland Eastern Shore from the afternoon of February 26th through March 2nd. The warmest day through this spring preview was February 27th as many new record high temperatures were set.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A persistent west to southwest flow of air throughout the Eastern United States brought unseasonably warm air into the Maryland Eastern Shore from the afternoon of February 26th through March 2nd. The warmest day through this spring preview was February 27th as many new record high temperatures were set. A series of cold fronts, one early on the 28th and a stronger second one on March 2nd brought temperatures closer to seasonal levels. Warmest readings from around Maryland included 78 degrees in Salisbury and 76 degrees at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Cecil
- When
- March 1, 12:01 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cecil forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Kent
- When
- March 1, 12:01 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Kent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.236, -76.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Queen Annes
- When
- March 1, 12:01 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Queen Annes forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Talbot
- When
- March 1, 12:01 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Talbot forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.749, -76.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 1 to 6, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flooding in Tennessee, March 1 to 11, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, March 1 to 2, 1997
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, March 1, 1997
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, March 1997
Sources
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: 5599613, 5599614, 5599615, 5599616, 5599617.