Drought, Alexander
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Alexander forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Illinois, August 1 to 31, 2002
Moderate drought conditions developed over southern Illinois during August as a result of persistent dryness that began in June. At Carbondale, no measurable rainfall was reported during the entire month of July, and August rainfall was just over half an inch.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
- 19
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 PAH wrote it up.
Moderate drought conditions developed over southern Illinois during August as a result of persistent dryness that began in June. At Carbondale, no measurable rainfall was reported during the entire month of July, and August rainfall was just over half an inch. This dry period came on the heels of a very wet first half of the year, when 24 t0 30 inches fell from January through May. The main effect of the drought was on agriculture. Farmers anticipated substantial crop losses at harvest time. Heavy spring rains delayed planting of many crops until late May, which made them especially susceptible to the summer heat and drought.
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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 12:53 PM CST, 11 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 12:53 PM CST, 11 hours 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 153 PM CDT WED JUL 31 2002 SHORT TERM CHALLENGE FOR TONIGHT WILL BE WHAT TO DO WITH MESOSCALE VORT CENTER EMBEDDED ALONG THE SHEAR AXIS CUTTING THROUGH THE PAH FORECAST AREA TODAY. DURING THE MORNING HOURS...THE VORT CENTER /CONVECTIVELY INDUCED??/ HAS BEEN ANCHORED OVER MISSISSIPPI COUNTY IN SERN MO...WITH SOME MOVEMENT INTO FULTON COUNTY IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST KY DURING THE PAST HOUR /17Z/. THE MOST NUMEROUS CONVECTION WITHIN THE PAH COUNTY WARNING AREA IS NEAR THE CENTER AND IMMEDIATELY TO THE SOUTH OF THE VORT CENTER. ADDITIONAL CONVECTION APPEARS ON THE VORTICITY AXIS EXTENDING FROM THIS FEATURE TO THE WEST AND EAST. AT THIS TIME...I MAY CONSIDER KEEPING A SMALL POP IN THE SOUTHERN BORDER COUNTIES OF THE PAH FORECAST AREA INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF THE VORT CENTER. THE MESOETA GRAPHICAL GUIDANCE FROM AWIPS SEEMED TO INITIALIZE THE BEST WITH THE VORT CENTER...ALBEIT A LITTLE TOO FAR S AND W. THE 3-12 HOUR PROGGED MOVEMENT SEEMS IN LINE WITH CURRENT TRENDS. AVN/MRF MODELS ARE A LITTLE AGGRESSIVE WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE NEXT FRONT INTO THE FORECAST AREA LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. I BELIEVE THIS IS A LITTLE OVERDONE AS THE RIDGE IS RE-ESTABLISHED OVER THE AREA IN ADVANCE OF THE S/WV ROTATING ALONG THE BASE OF THE WESTERLIES ALONG THE UPPER MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES STATES. IN FACT...ALL MODELS SUGGEST A SMALL BUT NOTICEABLE INCREASE IN THICKNESSES OVER THE PAH FORECAST AREA. ANY SIGNFICANT MOISTURE WILL LIKELY BE RELATED TO MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS /ABOVE 6KFT/. WITH THE RIDGE EXPECTED TO SETTLE BACK IN THE AREA...BASICALLY CENTERED OVER THE AREA FROM FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY...EXPECT LITTLE IN THE WAY OF PCPN CHANCES ACROSS THE AREA AFTER THIS EVENING. MOS GUIDANCE FOR AVN/NGM A LITTLE OFF REGARDING PROGGED DEWPOINT VALUES FOR AREA IN THE SHORT TERM. WITH INCREASING SUBSIDENCE...ETC...MAY NEED TO MAKE A GRADUAL ADJUSTMENT TO SLIGHTLY LOWER DEWPOINTS. DEPENDING ON THE DEGREE OF CLOUD COVER TONIGHT...I WOULD BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME PATCHY FOG DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT. OVERALL...WILL LIKELY LEAN TOWARD THE ETA SOLN FOR MAJOR WEATHER FEATURES...WITH A COMPROMISE IN TEMPS BETWEEN AVN/NGM MOS IN THE LONG TERM. I WILL MONITOR OVERNIGHT LOWS/MAXES FOR ANY POTENTIAL FOR HEAT ADVISORIES INTO THE WEEKEND. .PAH...NONE. SMITH
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
19 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Edwards
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Edwards forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.417, -88.053 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Franklin
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.992, -88.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Gallatin
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Gallatin forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.763, -88.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Hamilton
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Hamilton forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.082, -88.539 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Hardin
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Hardin forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Jackson
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.785, -89.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Jefferson
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.301, -88.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Johnson
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.460, -88.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Massac
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Massac forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Perry
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Perry forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.084, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Pope
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pope forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.413, -88.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Pulaski
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pulaski forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.223, -89.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Saline
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Saline forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.753, -88.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Union
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.471, -89.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Wabash
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Wabash forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.446, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Wayne
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.430, -88.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, White
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- White forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.088, -88.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Williamson
- When
- August 1, 12:01 AM CST to August 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Williamson forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.730, -88.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- 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 Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, 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: 5311839, 5311840, 5311841, 5311842, 5311843, 5311844, 5311895, 5311896, 5311897, 5311898, 5311899, 5311900, 5311901, 5311902, 5311903, 5311904, 5311905, 5311906, 5311907.