Drought in Delaware, November 30, 1998

Name: Drought in Delaware, November 30, 1998
Start: 1998-11-30T23:59
End: 1998-11-30T23:59
Location: Delaware

November 30, 1998 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Unseasonably dry weather continued through the month of November across Delaware. 4 inches of precipitation fell during the month.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Unseasonably dry weather continued through the month of November across Delaware. On a county weighted average only 1.2 to 1.4 inches of precipitation fell during the month. This was around 2 inches below normal and represented about 40 percent of the normal monthly precipitation. On a county weighted average, the least precipitation fell in Kent County (1.2 inches). The monthly precipitation total at the New Castle County Airport was 1.27 inches. The unseasonably dry weather has persisted for months. Waterways from which Northern New Castle County draws drinking water were running well below normal. The streamflow at the Red Clay Creek in Wooddale on November 3rd was at a record low level for the date. The flow on the White Clay Creek was so low that Newark had to shut off its creekside treatment plant and shifted frequently to well or purchased water. The continued dry weather was expected to disrupt the late fall/early winter growth of spring grains. The topsoil and subsoil were rated as either very short (50 percent) or short (46 percent) of moisture.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Delaware Beaches

When: November 30, 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, Inland Sussex

When: November 30, 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: November 30, 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: November 30, 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

Every storm in Delaware in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Delaware, November 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: 5676392, 5676393, 5676394, 5676395.