Drought in Maryland, May 1 to 31, 2002

Name: Drought in Maryland, May 1 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-05-01T00:00
End: 2002-05-31T23:59
Location: Maryland

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

Precipitation during May of 2002 was drier than normal in Talbot and Caroline Counties and around normal in Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's Counties. 4 inches in Caroline County.

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.

Precipitation during May of 2002 was drier than normal in Talbot and Caroline Counties and around normal in Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's Counties. On a county weighted average, May monthly precipitation totals ranged from 2.4 inches in Talbot County to 4.4 inches in Caroline County. Normal is around 4.1 inches. The monthly precipitation total for the Baltimore-Washington International Airport was 2.99 inches, 0.99 inches drier than normal. The drought emergency remained in effect for Cecil County. The rest of the Eastern Shore remained under a drought warning. Level one mandatory restrictions were in place for Cecil County and included the prohibition of watering lawns, use of water for ornamental purposes, use of water for non-commercial washing or cleaning of automobiles, trucks, trailers and boats, washing paved surfaces, use of sprinklers and other automatic watering devices for irrigation, watering gardens, trees, shrubs or other outdoor plants. Hand held hoses and containers could still be used. Elsewhere along the Eastern Shore, no formal restrictions were in place, but water conservation continued to be emphasized. The only reported exception was in Galena (Kent County) where watering restrictions were in place on the odd number days. Applications for fundraising car washes were denied.

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 Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 8:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
945 PM EDT TUE APR 30 2002

DISC: RADAR LOOP PRETTY MUCH IN AGREEMENT WITH MESO ETA. WILL MAKE
CHANGES TO REFLECT ENDING OF THE SHOWERS.

ONLY OTHER CHANGE IS RAISING SCA FOR SOUTHERN AREAS.

OTHERWISE...HAVE A GOOD NIGHT AND SEE YA AT 330 AM.

EBERWINE

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...SCA IN EFFECT FOR SNJ COAST 452>455 AND LOWER BAY 431.
PA...NONE.

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: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 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: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 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: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 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: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 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: May 1, 12:00 AM EST to May 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, May 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: 5298635, 5298636, 5298637, 5298638, 5298639.