Drought in New Jersey, July 31, 1998

Name: Drought in New Jersey, July 31, 1998
Start: 1998-07-31T23:59
End: 1998-07-31T23:59
Location: New Jersey

July 31, 1998 · NWS PHI · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

July 1998 started a run of drier than normal weather across New Jersey. 0 inches and averaged about half of normal.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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: 20

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 New Jersey. On a county weighted average, rainfall totals for the month of July were between 1.5 and 3.0 inches and averaged about half of normal. The driest conditions occurred across Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex Counties where only about 30 percent of the normal July rainfall fell. The lack of rain started to stress crops in Central New Jersey. Farmers in Central New Jersey rely more on rainfall than irrigation. The dry weather also forced Chester, Mount Olive and Parsippany in Morris County to impose some water use restrictions. The July monthly rainfall total at the Atlantic City International Airport was 1.40 inches. In nearby Pennsylvania, monthly rainfall totals were only 1.79 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport and 1.18 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Eastern Atlantic

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Cape May

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Monmouth

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Ocean

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gloucester

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hunterdon

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Mercer

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Middlesex

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Morris

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Salem

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Somerset

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sussex

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Warren

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Atlantic

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Cape May

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Monmouth

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Ocean

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Burlington

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Camden

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cumberland

When: July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (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 New Jersey in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, 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: 5664084, 5664085, 5664086, 5664087, 5664088, 5664089, 5664090, 5664091, 5664092, 5664093, 5664094, 5664095, 5664096, 5664097, 5664098, 5664099, 5664100, 5664824, 5664825, 5664826.