Heat, Washington
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.604, -77.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Maryland, March 27 to 31, 1998
After a winter of cloudy, wet conditions, spring struck back with a vengeance in the form of strong atmospheric high pressure. Underneath the high, very warm and dry weather developed - more like early June than late March.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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
- $10,000
- Events
- 13
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 LWX wrote it up.
After a winter of cloudy, wet conditions, spring struck back with a vengeance in the form of strong atmospheric high pressure. Underneath the high, very warm and dry weather developed - more like early June than late March. One record high temperature was set at Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport with 86 degrees. The previous record had been 83, set in 1979. Four long-standing records were shattered in Hagerstown. Notably, the all-time March high temperature (formerly 88 degrees) was broken on March 30th when the mercury topped out at 89. The record had stood since 1907. The dry and breezy conditions aided several small brush fires, including three in eastern Anne Arundel Co (MDZ014) on the 28th through the 30th. One fire consumed 4 acres; the others burned less than 2 acres each.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Frederick
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Carroll
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Carroll forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Northern Baltimore
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northern Baltimore forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.443, -76.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Harford
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Harford forecast zone
Heat, Montgomery
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
Heat, Howard
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Howard forecast zone
Heat, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C) forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.367, -76.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Prince Georges
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Prince Georges forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Anne Arundel
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Anne Arundel forecast zone
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Charles
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Charles forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.474, -77.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, St. Mary'S
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- St. Mary'S forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.216, -76.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Calvert
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Calvert forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.535, -76.531 (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
- High Wind in Ohio, March 27, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, March 27, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Utah, March 27 to 30, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, March 27, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, March 27, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, March 27, 1998
- High Wind in Oklahoma, March 27, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, March 27, 1998
- Heat in Maine, March 27 to 31, 1998
- Heat in New York, March 27 to 31, 1998
- Heavy Rain in Colorado, March 27, 1998
- Heat in Virginia, March 27 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, March 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: 5633260, 5633261, 5633262, 5633263, 5633264, 5633265, 5633266, 5633267, 5633268, 5633269, 5633270, 5633271, 5633272.