Delaware, 2002

Damaging Wind in Delaware, August 1, 2002

August 1, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees and power lines north to south across western sections of New Castle County. Conectiv Energy reported about 5,000 of their customers lost power and took about 24 hours to fully restore power.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
1

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.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees and power lines north to south across western sections of New Castle County. Conectiv Energy reported about 5,000 of their customers lost power and took about 24 hours to fully restore power.

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 Aug 1, 2:35 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 1, 2:35 PM EST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
335 PM EDT THU AUG 1 2002

ISOLD RW/TRW POPPING UP OVR THE TERRAIN NORTH AND NORTHWEST THIS
AFTN...LIKELY DUE WK UPPER LVL PVA COMBINED WITH MDT INSTABY AND
REMNANT TROF THRU CWA. THIS LAST FACTOR SHUD WASH OUT TNGT...BUT
MAY HAVE TO CARRY A REST OF THIS AFTN PD NWRN ZONES TIL THEN.

OTHERWISE JUST PTLY CLDY N AND MO CLR CNTRL AND S TNGT AS SLY FLO
RESUMES...THEN WAITING FOR NEXT WK FNT TO DRIFT SEWD INTO CWA FRI
NITE. WL CARRY A SML POP FOR NWRN ZONES LATER FRI AFTN...THEN A CHC
ALL ZONES FRI NITE...MAINLY BFR MIDNITE N. FNT HANGS UP CNTRL/SRN
ZONES AS UPPER PUSH BCMS LESS SAT...SO WL CARRY A BIT MORE CLDS SRN
HALF OF CWA AS WELL AS A CHC POP FOR MAINLY AFTN RW/TRW.

TEMPS...PREFER THE SLGTLY WARMER FWC/S IN VIEW OF ETA AND AVN H85
TEMPS. WL KEEP TEMPS A BIT HIR THAN GUIDANCE AS WELL AS CURRENT FCST
OVER THE SRN ZONES FRI NITE AND SAT AS NO REAL AMS CHG TAKES PLACE
AND DPTS DON/T DRO TOO MUCH.

WL KEEP EXCSV HEAT WRNG IN PLACE FOR HILY URBANIZED AREAS IN AND
ARND PHL IN VIEW OF FCST TEMPS AND HI/S. IT APPEARS THAT CRITERIA WL
NOT BE MET FOR HEAT ADVY ELSW DESPITE HOT TEMPS.

NOTHING UP FOR THE MARINE.

MPO   68  90  64  87 /  20  30  30  20
ABE   70  94  68  90 /  20  30  30  20
RDG   72  95  70  91 /  20  30  30  20
PHL   77  97  76  93 /  20  20  30  30
12N   69  92  66  89 /  20  30  30  20
SMQ   74  95  72  90 /  20  20  30  20
TTN   75  97  75  92 /  20  20  30  30
MIV   71  94  72  91 /  20  20  30  30
ACY   74  91  73  89 /  20  20  30  30
ILG   75  96  75  92 /  20  20  30  30
DOV   72  94  73  90 /  20  20  30  30
GED   72  95  73  91 /  20  20  30  30
ESN   73  94  74  91 /  20  20  30  30

.PHI...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH FRI FOR THE HIGHLY URBANIZED
       AREAS IN AND ARND PHL...CAMDEN...TRENTON AND WILMINGTON
       (PAZ067>071...NJZ015-017-018-019 AND DEZ001).
MARINE...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, New Castle

When
August 1, 5:55 PM EST to 6:10 PM EST
Where
New Castle County, Hockessin
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.783, -75.683

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

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: 5317935.