Drought in Delaware, November 1 to 30, 2001

Name: Drought in Delaware, November 1 to 30, 2001
Start: 2001-11-01T00:01
End: 2001-11-30T23:59
Location: Delaware

November 1 to 30, 2001 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

November 2001 continued the trend of unseasonably dry weather for Delaware. Streams that provide drinking water for New Castle County approached record low levels during the month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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.

November 2001 continued the trend of unseasonably dry weather for Delaware. Streams that provide drinking water for New Castle County approached record low levels during the month. Most other streams in the state were also near record low levels. As early as November 6th, both the Brandywine and White Clay Creeks were approaching the minimum flow levels that officials state place a strain on fish if drinking water continued to be drawn. Newark was prepared to shift to wells or commercial water supplies if levels on the White Clay Creek continued to fall. Fall crops were affected by the dry weather. Lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, wheat, spinach and rye were all hurt by the lack of water. In addition, soybeans were shattering during the harvest. The state fire marshal banned all outside burning in the state on the 13th. Charcoal and gas grills were excluded. On a county weighted average, monthly precipitation totals ranged from 0.3 inches in Sussex County (about 10 percent of normal) to 1.1 inches in New Castle County. Normal is around 3.3 inches. The monthly precipitation total at the New Castle County Airport was 0.99 inches, 9th driest on record. The monthly precipitation total in Georgetown was 0.33 inches.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 10:05 PM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 10:05 PM EST, 1 hour 56 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1005 PM EST WED OCT 31 2001

UPDATE TO ZONES/RDF/CCF/SFP TO REMOVE EVENING WORDING AND TO CHG TO
PTLY CLDY ALL ZONES OVRNGT. OVC OVR NRN ZONES IS BREAKING UP AND
SOME AC/CI APPEARS TO BE STREAMING SEWD INTO SRN ZONES AS WELL.
THEN TOO THERE CUD BE SOME ST ARND TWD MRNG. MINOR CHG TO MINS
POCONOS ZONES...LWRG THE RANGE. PREV DISC IS BELOW.

*********************************************************************

DISC: LGT PCPN EXITING NE NJ ON SCHED AND CLDS W/B MOVING ON THRU
LATER THIS EVENING WITH CLEARING SKIES FROM S TO N. BACK EDGE OF
CLDS W/B THRU ABE-PHL LINE BY 315 PM AND SRN COASTAL SEXNS ARND
430-5PM. MOST AREAS SHOULD SEE THE SUN SET. IN ANY EVENT WX CONDS
FOR TRICK OR TREATERS WILL BE OK AND WELL HAVE THE FULL MOON...THE
FIRST IN 46 YRS ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT. REMEMBERING AN OL SAYING...
THE MOON WAS A GHOSTLY GALLEON TOSSED UPON CLOUDY SEAS.

ANYWAY...SFC HIGH MOVES OFFSHORE TONIGHT AND RETURN FLOW SETS IN
AS HIGH BUILDS OVER WESTERN ATLC. VERY STRONG WAA ON 50-65KTS FLOW
IN MID SEXN OF COUNTRY. RIDGE REMAINS ENTRENCHED OVER MID ATLANTIC
STATES AND THIS SCENARIO WILL KEEP AREA DRY ALTHO MODLES TRYING TO
BRING SOME LGT PCPN N ALONG THE COAST. WILL NOT MENTION ANY PCPN AT
THIS TIME. ON A LARGER SCALE...A FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE E BY FRI
AND BRING A NARROW BAND OF PCPN FROM ERN CANADA TO ERN TX. THE UPPER
AIR PATTERN AND FAST FLOW BRINGS THE SFC LO FROM LAKE WINNIPEG TO
BAFFIN BAY. THUS THE SFC FRONT WILL RACE THRU ACROSS THE N AND LAG
BEHIND TO THE S. MUCH OF THAT PCPN MAY WASH OUT BEFORE REACH A GOOD
PART OF THE FA ALTHOUGH WE COULD CERTAINLY USE THE RAIN. MY RIGHT
SEAT INFORMS ME IT/S 15 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITHOUT MEASUREABLE PCPN IN
PHL. THE RECORD IS 29 CON DAYS FROM OCT 11-NOV 8 1874.

TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO RISE TO NEAR OR ABV 70 NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS
OR 10 DEG ABV NORMAL. DEW POINTS ALSO ON THE RISE BUT NOT EXPECT TOO
MUCH FOG TONIGHT...THURSDAY NIGHT HOWEVER WILL BE CANDIDATE FOR SOME
PATCHY DENSE FOG.

SWELLS WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH WITH WINDS VEERING ON THE COAST.
NO OTHER MWSS W/B ISSUED.

FCSTID = 16/EBERWINE
MPO   44  64  47  62 /  20   0  20  40
ABE   44  66  48  66 /  10   0  10  40
RDG   46  68  50  69 /  10   0  10  30
PHL   48  70  51  70 /  10   0  10  30
12N   44  64  47  62 /  20   0  20  40
SMQ   46  70  51  70 /  10   0  10  30
TTN   46  70  51  70 /  10   0  10  30
MIV   46  71  51  72 /  10   0  10  30
ACY   45  71  50  72 /  10   0  10  30
ILG   47  70  51  70 /  10   0  10  30
DOV   48  70  52  70 /  10   0  10  30
GED   48  70  52  70 /  10   0  10  30
ESN   48  70  52  70 /  10   0  10  30

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Delaware Beaches

When: November 1, 12:01 AM EST to November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Delaware Beaches forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Inland Sussex

When: November 1, 12:01 AM EST to November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Inland Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kent

When: November 1, 12:01 AM EST to November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Kent forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, New Castle

When: November 1, 12:01 AM EST to November 30, 11:59 PM EST
Where: New Castle forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.578, -75.639 (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 Delaware in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Delaware, November 2001

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: 5272941, 5272942, 5272943, 5272944.