Heat in Maryland, August 1, 1999

A protracted run of days with consecutive high temperatures of 90 degrees or higher started along the Eastern Shore on July 23rd. It lasted as long as 16 days in some areas through August 7th. Dispersed within this run were two periods of both excessive heat and humidity: from July 23rd through July 25th and again from July 29th through August 1st. A strong cold front moved through the region the afternoon and evening of August 1st. This brought in considerably drier air, the driest air since mid-July. Because of the extremely dry ground conditions, larger diurnal temperature ranges than normal continued. In spite of a second cold frontal passage on the 5th, high temperatures still reached the 90s in some areas through August 7th. On the 7th a stronger cold front moved through and coupled with cloudy skies and light rain on the 8th, brought an end to the run of consecutive days with high temperatures 90 degrees or higher. Delmarva hospitals reported a few cases of heat related injuries. Cecil County Department of Aging distributed fans to the needy. The continued excessive heat and lack of rain parched non-irrigated farms across the Eastern Shore. The hot weather was also blamed for the lower attendance at the Cecil County Fair. Attendance was down 15 percent from 1998. The highest temperatures during this hot spell included 99 degrees at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport (occurred July 31st) and Salisbury (occurred August 1st) and 96 degrees in Easton (Talbot County, occurred July 31st).