Drought, Delaware Beaches
- When
- July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware Beaches forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Delaware, July 31, 1998
July 1998 started a run of drier than normal weather across much of Delaware. 4 inches and averaged about half of normal.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- 4
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.
July 1998 started a run of drier than normal weather across much of Delaware. On a county weighted average, rainfall totals for the month of July were between 1.7 and 2.4 inches and averaged about half of normal. The driest conditions occurred across Sussex County. In Sussex County, only 45 percent of the normal July rainfall fell. The monthly rainfall total at the New Castle County Airport was 2.18 inches.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Inland Sussex
- When
- July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Inland Sussex forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Kent
- When
- July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Kent forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, New Castle
- When
- July 31, 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- New Castle forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood and Hail in Montana, July 31, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Colorado, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 31, 1998
- Drought in New Jersey, July 31, 1998
- Flash Flood in Idaho, July 31, 1998
- Drought in Pennsylvania, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 31, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 31, 1998
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, July 1998
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: 5664713, 5664714, 5664715, 5664813.