Drought in Maryland, August 1 to 31, 2002

Name: Drought in Maryland, August 1 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-08-01T00:00
End: 2002-08-31T23:59
Location: Maryland

August 1 to 31, 2002 · NWS PHI · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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 combination of unseasonably warm weather and below normal precipitation continued to intensify the drought across the Maryland Eastern Shore in August. Very little precipitation fell during the first three weeks of the month. Most of the month's rain came during the final week. It was believed the rain came too late for the farmers. The continued lack of precipitation prompted Governor Parris N. Glendening to declare a drought emergency across the entire Eastern Shore and implemented level two water restrictions on August 27th. Watering lawns, using sprinkles, washing paved surfaces, using water for ornamental fountains, washing cars and boats, filling or topping pools, homeowners power washing structures and serving water without being requested were all banned. All other businesses and industries must implement plans to reduce water consumption by 10 percent. Golf courses were restricted to mainly watering just tees and greens overnight. Well replacement on the Eastern Shore was up more than 23 percent as compared to the last two years with Queen Anne's County requiring 81 well replacements in July vs just four the year before. The governor also issued an Executive Order that banned all debris burning. He also expanded the eligibility requirements of the State's Cover Crop Program to help farmers cope with the drought. This would assist farmers by providing them a cover crop they could harvest. This also reduces soil erosion and protects water quality. On August 13th the governor called for a federal disaster declaration to assist farmers. Across the state corn crop losses ranged from 20 to 80 percent. Soybean losses averaged between 20 to 60 percent with the second crop suffered as much as 70 percent losses. Other crops also had losses between 10 and 70 percent. The excessive heat and the lack of precipitation also has affected livestock producers as sources of water for their animals dry and pasture grass dies. August monthly precipitation on a county weighted average ranged from 2.4 inches in Cecil County to 3.7 inches in Talbot County. Normal is around 4.1 inches. At the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, August monthly precipitation was 3.36 inches, 0.38 inches below 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 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.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Caroline

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Caroline forecast zone
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 38.872, -75.832 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cecil

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cecil forecast zone
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kent

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Kent forecast zone
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 39.236, -76.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Queen Annes

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Queen Annes forecast zone
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Talbot

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Talbot forecast zone
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL
Coordinates: 38.749, -76.179 (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

Every storm in Maryland in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maryland, 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: 5318292, 5318293, 5318294, 5318295, 5318296.