Drought in Pennsylvania, November 30, 1998

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

November 30, 1998 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Unseasonably dry weather continued through the month of November across Eastern Pennsylvania. 2 inches of precipitation fell during the month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 10

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 Eastern Pennsylvania. On a county weighted average only 1.2 to 2.2 inches of precipitation fell during the month. This was around 2.5 inches below normal and represented between 30 about 52 percent of the normal monthly precipitation. On a county weighted average, the least precipitation fell in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery Counties (all 1.2 inches). This continued a trend of several months with the greatest precipitation deficiencies in Southeast Pennsylvania. Over the past four months only 6.8 to 10.4 inches (on a county weighted average) of precipitation fell within Philadelphia and its four surrounding counties. Normal precipitation is between 14.3 and 15.0 inches. The November monthly precipitation total at the Philadelphia International Airport was 1.18 inches; at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, it was 1.39 inches. The dry weather affected wheat, barley and pasture growth in several areas in Pennsylvania. The corn crop yield was as much as 50 percent below normal. The state's soil was rated as 84 percent very short or short of moisture. The continued dry weather was leading toward drought declarations from both the Susquehanna and Delaware River Basin Commissions.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Berks

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Berks forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Bucks

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Carbon

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Carbon forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Chester

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Delaware

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lehigh

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Monroe

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Montgomery

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Northampton

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northampton forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Philadelphia

When: November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.008, -75.134 (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 Pennsylvania in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5676396, 5676397, 5676398, 5676399, 5676400, 5676401, 5676402, 5676403, 5676404, 5676405.