Drought in New Jersey, November 30, 1998

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

November 30, 1998 · NWS PHI · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Unseasonably dry weather continued through the month of November across New Jersey. 9 inches of precipitation fell during the month.

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.

Unseasonably dry weather continued through the month of November across New Jersey. On a county weighted average only 1.2 to 1.9 inches of precipitation fell during the month. This was around 2.5 inches below normal and represented between 29 about 45 percent of the normal monthly precipitation. On a county weighted average, the least precipitation fell in Cumberland, Middlesex and Somerset Counties (all 1.2 inches). This continued a trend of several months of below normal precipitation. In fact, it was the driest July through November on record in New Jersey since records were started in 1895. During this four month period, an average rainfall of 10.73 inches of precipitation fell in the state. Normal is 19.66 inches. The Standardized Precipitation Index classified New Jersey as severely to extremely dry. The dry weather caused problems for non-irrigated farms in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem Counties. Soybeans were half their normal size. Corn crop yields were up to 50 percent below normal. The November monthly precipitation total at the Atlantic City International Airport was 1.26 inches (9th driest November on record); at the Marina within Atlantic City it was 0.89 inches (6th driest November on record). The continued dry weather was leading toward a drought declaration from the Delaware River Basin Commission.

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, Burlington

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

Drought, Eastern Atlantic

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

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, 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: 5676406, 5676407, 5676408, 5676409, 5676529, 5676530, 5676531, 5676532, 5676533, 5676534, 5676535, 5676536, 5676537, 5676538, 5676539, 5676540, 5676541, 5676542, 5676543, 5676544.