Pennsylvania, 2001

Drought in Pennsylvania, April 30, 2001

April 30, 2001 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

April 2001 was unseasonably dry month for Eastern Pennsylvania, especially during the second half of the month when very little rain fell. 8 inches in Berks County.

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.

April 2001 was unseasonably dry month for Eastern Pennsylvania, especially during the second half of the month when very little rain fell. On a county weighted average, April monthly precipitation totals ranged from 1.5 inches in Philadelphia County to 2.8 inches in Berks County. This was about 50 percent of normal and most of the precipitation fell prior to April 14th. At the Philadelphia International Airport, the monthly precipitation total of 1.47 inches was the ninth driest April on record. No measurable precipitation fell at Philadelphia International Airport from April 25th through May 19th, a string of 25 consecutive days and the longest streak without measurable precipitation during the spring months (March, April, May) on record. In addition to raising the fire danger, the unseasonably dry weather, if it persists, will threaten the growing season.

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 Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
945 PM EDT MON APR 30 2001

DISC: DRY WARM SPELL ON THE WAY. ILG-PHI-ACY-ABE HAVE NOT HAD A HALF
INCH OF RAIN ON ANY DAY THIS MONTH SO WE NEED THE RAIN. OTHERWISE
CURRENT FCST PCKG IS ON TRACK SO NO UPDATE NEEDED.

SEE YA AT 3AM

.PHI...NONE.

EBEWINE

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, Carbon

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

Drought, Delaware

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

Drought, Northampton

When
April 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
April 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)

Drought, Berks

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

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, April 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: 5239239, 5239240, 5239241, 5239242, 5239243, 5239244, 5239245, 5239246, 5240797, 5240798.