Delaware, 2002

Heat in Delaware, January 27 to 30, 2002

January 27 to 30, 2002 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong ridge of high pressure at the surface and higher levels of the atmosphere brought unseasonably warm air into Delaware from January 27th through the 30th. This cemented another unseasonably warm and dry month across the region.

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

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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.

A strong ridge of high pressure at the surface and higher levels of the atmosphere brought unseasonably warm air into Delaware from January 27th through the 30th. This cemented another unseasonably warm and dry month across the region. High temperatures on the 27th and 28th were in the 60s and rose as warm as the record breaking 70s on both the 29th and 30th. A cold front dropped through the state late in the day on the 30th and lowered temperatures closer to seasonable levels on the 31st. Highest temperatures included 77 degrees in Georgetown (Sussex County), 76 degrees in Greenwood (Sussex County) and Milford (Kent County) and 70 degrees at the New Castle County Airport. The monthly mean temperature of 37.8 degrees at the New Castle County Airport (6.3 degrees above normal) was the tenth warmest January on record. The monthly mean temperature of 40.0 degrees in Georgetown was 5.7 degrees above normal.

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 Jan 27, 1:35 PM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 1:35 PM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
135 PM EST SUN JAN 27 2002

WARM DRY AIR REMAINS IN PLACE THROUGH TUE. HOWEVER...HIGH LVL
MOISTURE INCREASES BEGINNING LATE MONDAY AND BY TUE MRNG...THE NRN
ZONES SHOULD BE BKN-OVC AND THE SRN ZONES SCT-BKN. BY TUE AFTN...A
COLD FRONT SAGS SLOWLY S AND MAY REACH THE NRN ZONES BY SUNSET.

WITH LIGHT WINDS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...TEMPS RADIATE TNGT AND
GUIDANCE LOOKS A BIT HIGH. VERY SHALLOW INVERSION BURNS OFF QUICKLY
MON AND WITH A BIT MORE MIXING THAN TODAY...TEMPS SHOULD BE A CPL
DEGR HIGHER. A SEABREEZE IS FCST TO DVLP ON THE COAST...SIMILAR TO
TODAY. THE SW GRADIENT IS PARALLEL TO THE COAST AND NOT ENOUGH TO
PREVENT THE COLD OCEAN FROM EFFECTING THE COASTAL ZONE TEMPS.

MON NIGHT...CLOUDS HOLD TEMPS UP SOMEWHAT...BUT STILL SOME RADIATION
MAINLY CENTRAL AND SRN ZONES. TUE...CLOUDS SHOULD KEEP TEMPS FROM
BEING AS WARM AS MON...EVEN WITH NIGHTTIME MINS HIGHER THAN TNGT.

MPO   28  56  40  50 /   0   0   0   5
ABE   29  60  40  55 /   0   0   0   0
RDG   29  60  40  55 /   0   0   0   0
PHL   34  65  40  62 /   0   0   0   0
12N   28  55  40  52 /   0   0   0   0
SMQ   32  63  39  60 /   0   0   0   0
TTN   32  63  39  60 /   0   0   0   0
MIV   28  63  37  62 /   0   0   0   0
ACY   36  55  40  57 /   0   0   0   0
ILG   32  65  37  62 /   0   0   0   0
DOV   33  67  38  62 /   0   0   0   0
GED   33  67  38  62 /   0   0   0   0
ESN   33  67  38  62 /   0   0   0   0

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

RNS

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, Delaware Beaches

When
January 27, 6:00 PM EST to January 30, 6:00 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
January 27, 6:00 PM EST to January 30, 6:00 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
January 27, 6:00 PM EST to January 30, 6:00 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
January 27, 6:00 PM EST to January 30, 6:00 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

More

Every storm in Delaware in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, January 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: 5277510, 5277511, 5277512, 5277513.