Heat, Delaware Beaches
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 5, 7:00 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)
Heat in Delaware, August 1 to 5, 2002
The excessive heat that began on July 28th continued through August 5th. The combination of high temperatures in the 90s and high dew points produced heat indices of over 100 each day through the 5th.
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
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.
The excessive heat that began on July 28th continued through August 5th. The combination of high temperatures in the 90s and high dew points produced heat indices of over 100 each day through the 5th. A cold frontal passage late in the day on the 5th ended the excessive heat. The hottest day of this spell for most places in August was the second. Highest temperatures included 98 degrees at the New Castle County Airport, 97 degrees in Milford (Kent County) and Salisbury (Wicomico County Maryland), 96 degrees in Greenwood (Sussex County) and Wilmington (New Castle County Airport).
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 Jul 31, 1:50 PM EST, 10 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 1:50 PM EST, 10 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 250 PM EDT WED JUL 31 2002 EARLY/MID AFTERNOON TEMPS RUNNING EVEN TO -3 DEGREES COMPARED TO 24 HOURS AGO. DEWPOINTS ARE DOWN 5 TO 10 DEGREES. HEAT INDICES SHOULD TOP OUT IN THE LOWER TO MID 90S IN MOST AREAS. NOT TOO MUCH CHANGE BETWEEN LAST NIGHT/S 06Z RUNS AND THIS MORNING/S 12Z RUNS WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SPRAWLED ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE NATION. THE WESTERLY H5 FLOW WILL TURN MORE NW THIS EVENING HELPING TO DISSIPATE THE SHOWERS NOW ACROSS WESTERN PA/NY. WE SHOULD SEE A FEW CLOUDS THIS EVENING...BUT WILL STILL CALL SKIES MOSTLY CLEAR. ANOTHER H5 S/W IS PROGGED TO MOVE OVER THE REGION TOMORROW AFTERNOON/EVENING. THE AVN CONTINUES TO PRODUCE MEASURABLE THROUGHOUT THE CWA. THIS HAS BEEN THE TREND OF LATE WITH THESE WEAK SYSTEMS IN A W/NW FLOW. WILL CONTINUE TO DISCOUNT AND SIDE WITH THE ETA SOLUTIONS. I GUESS WHAT THROWS THE THOUGHT OF POSSIBLE SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN MY MIND IS THAT WE/LL HAVE MORE SURFACE CONVERGENCE WITH THE LEE SIDE TROF AND THE CAP WE HAVE TODAY IS FORECAST TO DISSIPATE. AT THE MOMENT...WE/LL THROW 10/20 POPS IN...KEEPING THE EVENT UNDER THE CHANCE CATEGORY. OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS...MODELS FORECAST A MODEST 5 DEGREE RISE IN DEW POINTS AND ABOUT A 2 DEGREE RISE IN H8 TEMPS. NOT THE WORST CASE SCENARIO...BUT ENOUGH TO TRIGGER AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY(URBAN AREAS ONLY). THE ROAD THE MODELS ARE TRAVELING LOOK REASONABLE AS BL WINDS ARE QUITE VARIABLE AS WELL AS LIGHT DURING THIS TIME UNTIL FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHERE THEY BECOME MORE PERSISTENT FROM THE WEST. WITH PERSISTENCE NOT IN THE FORECAST... THE MODEST RISES WE WILL EXPERIENCE WILL BE MORE FROM LOCAL EFFECTS MODIFYING THE AIRMASS COMPARED TO ADVECTION. WITH THE L/V WINDS... SEA BREEZES WILL BE TAMING TEMPS ACROSS THE SHORE. FOR FRIDAY...BESIDES A BIT MORE HEAT AND HUMIDITY...WILL INTRODUCE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS LATE IN THE DAY FOR THE NWRN ZONES AS A WEAK SURFACE COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION. H5 FLOW TRIES TO BECOME MORE CYCLONIC WHILE SURFACE CONVECTIVE PARAMETERS INDICATE GREATER INSTABILITY. DON/T THINK WE/LL BE CAPPED EITHER. BEYOND THE 48 HOUR TIME FRAME...WE/LL KEEP THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING FOR FRIDAY NIGHT. AS WITH THE MOST RECENT COLD FROPA WHERE TEMPS WERE NOT THAT DIFFERENT ON THE BACK SIDE...THIS NEXT COLD FRONT IS STARTING TO LOOK SIMILAR. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL BE BUMPED UP A CATEGORY OVER THE WEEKEND. WILL KEEP EVERYTHING ELSE PRETTY MUCH IN TACT WITH THE NEXT THREAT OF PRECIPITATION ON TUESDAY. QUIET ON THE OCEAN AND BAY. FCSTID = 29 MPO 67 89 69 90 / 0 20 10 30 ABE 70 93 71 94 / 0 20 10 30 RDG 71 94 72 95 / 0 20 10 30 PHL 75 95 75 96 / 0 10 10 20 12N 67 90 69 91 / 0 20 10 30 SMQ 70 94 70 95 / 0 10 10 20 TTN 71 95 72 96 / 0 10 10 20 MIV 71 94 72 95 / 0 20 10 20 ACY 75 89 75 89 / 0 10 10 20 ILG 71 95 72 96 / 0 10 10 20 DOV 72 94 74 95 / 0 20 10 20 GED 72 93 74 94 / 0 20 10 20 ESN 71 93 73 94 / 0 20 10 20 .PHI... DE...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONE DEZ001. MD...NONE. NJ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONES NJZ015-017>019. PA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONES PAZ067>071. MARINE...NONE. KRUZDLO
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Inland Sussex
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 5, 7:00 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)
Heat, Kent
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 5, 7:00 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)
Heat, New Castle
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 5, 7:00 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
- 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
- Heat in Pennsylvania, August 1 to 5, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, August 1 to 5, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 6, 2002
- Wildfire in California, August 1 to 13, 2002
- Heat in New Jersey, August 1 to 5, 2002
- Wildfire in California, August 1 to 29, 2002
- Heat in Louisiana, August 1, 2002
- Drought in Wisconsin, August 1 to 11, 2002
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, August 1 to 2, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, August 1 to 2, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, August 1 to 31, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, August 1 to 31, 2002
More
Every storm in Delaware in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, August 2002
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: 5318165, 5318166, 5318167, 5318168.