Heat in Maryland, August 22, 2002

Name: Heat in Maryland, August 22, 2002
Start: 2002-08-22T10:00
End: 2002-08-22T20:00
Location: Maryland

August 22, 2002 · NWS LWX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

High temperatures rose into the mid 90s on the 22nd. With dew points in the lower to mid 70s, heat index values soared to near 105 degrees during the afternoon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: 3
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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 LWX wrote it up.

High temperatures rose into the mid 90s on the 22nd. With dew points in the lower to mid 70s, heat index values soared to near 105 degrees during the afternoon. Three people died as a result of the excessive heat. In Prince George's County, a 43-year old man was found dead in his home on the 22nd. In the city of Baltimore, a 72-year old man died in his home on the 22nd and a 74-year old man was found dead in his home on the 26th.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 9:20 AM EST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 9:20 AM EST, 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1020 AM EDT THU AUG 22 2002

LOW CLOUDS FM SE FLOW OVRNGT ARE SLOWLY DISSIPATING. VEIL OF THICK
CS MOVING THRU THE AREA LATE THIS MORNING. EXPECT THIS TO THIN OUT
THIS AFTRN. THE INCREASING SUNSHINE COMBINED WITH S FLOW AND 850MB
TEMPS WARMING TO +20C SHOULD RESULT IN AFTRN MAX TEMPS 94 TO 99 E OF
THE WRN RDGS. WILL MAKE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPS.

HATE TO BACK OFF ON WARNINGS THAT ARE IN EFFECT. DOING THAT IS THE
EQUIVALENT TO PULLING TEETH. HOWEVER...AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION AMONG
FORECASTERS HERE IN THE OFFICE...HAVE DECIDED TO DOWNGRADE HEAT
WARNINGS IN THE CITIES TO HEAT ADVISORIES. MAX TEMP OF 98F AND A
DWPT AROUND 70 YIELDS A HEAT INDEX OF 105. HOWEVER...THE DEFINITION
OF A WARNING IS HEAT INDICES 106 OR HIGHER FOR 3 CONSECUTIVE HOURS
FOR TWO DAYS AND A MIN HEAT INDEX OF 80 AT NIGHT. WE MAY BRIEFLY HIT
105 OR 106 FOR AN HOUR TDA BUT I DONT FEEL WE WILL GET THE THREE
HOURS NEEDED FOR A WARNING AND THE SAME GOES FOR FRIDAY.

NEXT THING TO CONSIDER IS CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL THIS AFTRN. 06Z ETA
DOES SHOW A LEESIDE TROF SETTING UP OVR THE AREA THIS AFTRN WITH
SOME WEAK CONVERGENCE ALG IT. IN ADDITION...MODIFIED 12Z IAD
SOUNDING YEILDS A CAPE OF 1200 J/KG AND AN LI OF -3 SO THERE WILL BE
SOME INSTABILITY. HOWEVER...SOUNDING IS CAPPED AND THERE ARE NO
DYNAMICS. OROGRAPHIC LIFT MAY BE ENOUGH TO TRIGGER AN ISOLD CELL OR
TWO OVR THE MTNS BUT ONLY A 10% POP IS JUSTIFIED SO NO MENTION IN
THE ZNS ATTM. ANYTHING THAT DOES POP CAN BE HANDLED BY A NOWCAST.

.LWX...
DC...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONE DCZ001.
MD...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONES
     MDZ002>007...MDZ009>011... MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONES
     VAZ025>031...VAZ036>042... VAZ050>054...VAZ055>057.
WV...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>053...WVZ055.

WALSTON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Allegany

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Allegany forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Washington

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.604, -77.814 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Frederick

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.472, -77.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Carroll

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.563, -77.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Northern Baltimore

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Baltimore forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.443, -76.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C) forecast zone
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.367, -76.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Harford

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Harford forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Howard

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Howard forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Montgomery

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Prince Georges

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Prince Georges forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.830, -76.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Anne Arundel

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Anne Arundel forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.994, -76.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Calvert

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Calvert forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.535, -76.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Charles

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: Charles forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.474, -77.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, St. Mary'S

When: August 22, 10:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
Where: St. Mary'S forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.216, -76.529 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heat, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)	2002-08-22	72	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)	2002-08-26	74	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Prince Georges	2002-08-22	43	Male	Permanent Home	Direct

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

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: 5314534, 5314535, 5314536, 5314537, 5314538, 5314539, 5314540, 5314541, 5314542, 5314543, 5314544, 5314545, 5314546, 5314547.