Maryland, 2002

Heat in Maryland, July 1 to 4, 2002

July 1 to 4, 2002 · NWS PHI · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

July started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across the Maryland Eastern Shore. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th.

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
1
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.

July started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across the Maryland Eastern Shore. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th. Highest temperatures were around 100 degrees and heat indices reached around 105 degrees. An 80-year-old man in Talbot County died from the excessive heat. The heat also caused an increase in demand for electricity and contributed to a six hour blackout from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. EDT on the 3rd in Kent County. About 3,000 Conectiv Power Delivery customers were without power from Chestertown to Rock Hall. The power outage affected operations at the Kent County Office of Emergency Management. The high temperatures combined with more concentrated nutrients and thus more algae caused a fish kill in Kent County. Dozens of dead gizzard shads were found in a pond adjacent to the Chester River Yacht Club just south of Chestertown. The implementation of tunnel ventilation systems in chicken houses prevented any heat related deaths. Highest temperatures included 100 degrees at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Easton (Talbot County) and 99 degrees in Salisbury (Wicomico 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 Jul 1, 1:10 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 1:10 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION - CORRECTION FOR WATCH WARNING BELOW
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
210 AM EDT MON JUL 1 2002

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE METRO AREAS IN AND
AROUND PHL. VALID TIMES TUE AND WED.

HOT AIR IS BEING PUSHED NE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT IN CANADA. AS THIS
COLD FRONG GRADUALLY MOVES SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH MIDWEEK...THE HOT
AIR PRECEDING IT ALSO MOVES SOUTHEAST UNTIL THE FRONT CROSSES SLOWLY
FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE WED NIGHT AND THU.

TODAY...TEMPS DONT GET TOO HOT. ALTHOUGH THE HUMIDITY INCREASES
SOME...IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE HEAT INDEX TO PEAK MUCH ABOVE
THE LOW 90S. THERE IS ENUF DRY AIR ALFT...THAT SHOULD MIX DOWN AS
TEMPS RISE KEEPING DEWPTS IN THE 60S. THE SHORE ZOENS SHOULD BE
NICER WITH A COOL SEABREEZE.

TUE SHOULD BE HOT WITH THE HEAT INDEX 100 TO 105 AS TEMPS REACH THE
MID 90S AND DEWPTS THE LOW 70S. THE FLOW IS MORE OFFSHORE ALLOWING
THE COAST TO ALSO GET HOT. HOWEVER...THE OFFSHORE FLOW IS NOT ENOUGH
TO KEEP THE SEABREEZE FROM DEVELOP...ALBEIT AFTER TEMPS REACH THE
LOW 90S.

WITH RIDGING SFC AND ALFT...TEMPS SHOULD SOAR WED AFTER WARM
NIGHTTIME MINS IN THE 70S. 850 SUPPORTS TEMPS WELL INTO THE 90S ON
WED...WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE THE HOTTEST DAY AND THE HEAT INDEX MAY
EXCEED 105. THE COAST SHOULD ALSO GET HOT WITH OFFSHORE FLOW...ANY
SEABREEZES THAT DVLP SHOULD NOT MOVE INLAND AND REMAIN RESTRICTED TO
THE BEACHES.

PER TSTM POTENTIAL. CONSIDERING THE RIDGING SFC AND ALFT...TSTMS
ACTIVITY IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE ORGANIZED OR VERY WIDESPREAD UNTIL
THE FRONT GETS CLOSER TO THE REGION. THEREFORE...I WILL ONLY CARRY A
30 PCT POP FOR LATE THIS AFTN NORTH DUE TO A WEAK SHRT WAVE
THERE...THEN ALL AREAS IN THE AFTN TUE AND AGAIN WED AFTN. SINCE
DYNAMICS ARE NOT ORGANIZED...DAYTIME HEATING WILL BE NEEDED FOR
THEIR DVLPMT.

FCSTID = 9
MPO   85  70  89  70 /  30  20  30  20
ABE   88  70  95  72 /  30  20  30  20
RDG   89  70  95  72 /  30  20  30  20
PHL   90  72  97  76 /  10  10  30  20
12N   88  70  94  72 /  30  20  30  20
SMQ   90  71  96  76 /  20  10  30  20
TTN   90  71  96  76 /  20  10  30  20
MIV   87  70  97  74 /  10   0  30  20
ACY   81  70  93  73 /  10   0  30  20
ILG   89  70  97  76 /  10  10  30  20
DOV   87  70  97  74 /  10   0  30  20
GED   87  70  97  74 /  10   0  30  20
ESN   87  70  97  74 /  10   0  30  20

.PHI...
DE...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY.
MD...NONE.
NJ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR NORTHWEST BURLINGTON...
     MERCER...CAMDEN AND GLOUCESTER.
PA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR BUCKS...MONTGOMERY...
     CHESTER...DELAWARE AND PHILADELPHIA.
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

5 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Caroline

When
July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Caroline forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.872, -75.832 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cecil

When
July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Cecil forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.562, -75.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Kent

When
July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Kent forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.236, -76.096 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Queen Annes

When
July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Queen Annes forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.038, -76.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Talbot

When
July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Talbot forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.749, -76.179 (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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Heat, Talbot2002-07-0880MaleOtherDirect

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 Maryland in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, July 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: 5308316, 5308317, 5308318, 5308319, 5308320.