Heat, Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Virginia, 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 conditions developed - more like early June than late March.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
- None recorded
- Events
- 22
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 conditions developed - more like early June than late March. Three record high temperatures were set at IAD (VAZ042); on the 27th, 29th, and 31st, with readings of 84, 86, and 85 degrees, respectively. Temperatures in the central and northern Shenandoah Valley were the highest in 50 years for a similar time period. In Winchester (VAZ028), the maximum temperature of 86 degrees on the 29th was the highest on the date since 1948 (when the mercury reached 88 degrees). The dry and breezy conditions aided several small brush fires throughout the piedmont, but no major unplanned burns were noted.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
22 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Rockingham / Harrisonburg
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham / Harrisonburg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Shenandoah
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Shenandoah forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Frederick / Winchester
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick / Winchester forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Page
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Page forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Warren
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Clarke
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clarke forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Nelson
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nelson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.787, -78.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Albemarle / Charlotttesville
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Albemarle / Charlotttesville forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Greene
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Madison
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Rappahannock
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rappahannock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Fauquier
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fauquier forecast zone
Heat, Loudoun
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
Heat, Orange
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Culpeper
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Culpeper forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Prince William / Manassas
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Prince William / Manassas forecast zone
Heat, Fairfax
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Stafford
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stafford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, King George
- When
- March 27, 3:00 PM EST to March 31, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- King George forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.274, -77.156 (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 New Jersey, March 27 to 31, 1998
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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: 5632860, 5632861, 5632862, 5632863, 5632864, 5632865, 5632866, 5632867, 5632868, 5632869, 5632870, 5632871, 5632872, 5632873, 5632874, 5632875, 5632876, 5632877, 5632878, 5632879, 5633229, 5633230.