Delaware, 2002

Heat in Delaware, August 11 to 20, 2002

August 11 to 20, 2002 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The longest run of days with high temperatures of 90 or greater this summer occurred across Delaware from the 11th through the 20th. This was the longest heat wave for the state since the summer of 1999.

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.

The longest run of days with high temperatures of 90 or greater this summer occurred across Delaware from the 11th through the 20th. This was the longest heat wave for the state since the summer of 1999. It also solidified August and the summer of 2002 as one of the ten hottest summers on record. Along with the heat came the humidity. The hottest weather occurred for most places on the 13th and 14th. A couple of weak cold fronts dissipated as they tried to cross the state during this heat wave. The only effect was to keep temperatures and humidity levels from getting any higher from the 15th through the 20th. A stronger cold front moved through the state on the 20th and ended the run of hot weather. Highest temperatures included 100 degrees in Georgetown (Sussex County), 98 degrees at the New Castle County Airport and Greenwood (Sussex County) and 96 degrees in Milford (Kent County).

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 11, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1100 AM EDT SUN AUG 11 2002

MINOR UPDATE TO ZONES...MAINLY TO ADJUST A FEW TEMPS THIS AFTN.

.PHI...NONE.

KRAUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, New Castle

When
August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 8:00 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)

Heat, Delaware Beaches

When
August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 8:00 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, Inland Sussex

When
August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 8:00 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 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 8:00 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)

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

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: 5318181, 5318182, 5318183, 5318184.