Drought in New Jersey, August 1 to 31, 2002

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

August 1 to 31, 2002 · NWS OKX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

19 inches below normal. At the end of August, a majority of the streams monitored in real time by the U.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 6

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 OKX wrote it up.

The Brookhaven Hydrologic Service Area (HSA) received 4.09 inches of rain during August, which was 95 percent of normal or just 0.19 inches below normal. Because most rainfall was produced by convection, amounts were "variable" across the region.At the end of August, a majority of the streams monitored in real time by the U. S. Geological Survey in New Jersey, were classified as having streamflows in the 10 to 24 percentile, which was well below normal. Numerous new record low flows for the day were established throughout August.The combined storage in the 13 major reservoirs serving Northeast New Jersey on August 31st was 67.7 percent capacity, which was 10 to 15 percent below normal. Capacities in the individual reservoirs on August 31st were: Newark Reservoirs 61.3% (Percent capacity)Jersey City Reservoirs 70.3%North Jersey District 71.0%United Water of New Jersey 63.5%The State of New Jersey extended the state-wide Drought Emergency that it issued on March 4th, through August 31st. Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties were included in this emergency. The Governor's Administrative Order, which was issued on the 20th, re-implemented and reinforced water use restrictions.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:15 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:15 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
915 PM EDT WED JUL 31 2002

AT THIS TIME...NO CHANGES PLANNED TO CURRENT PACKAGE/DATABASE.
TEMP FORECASTS LOOK OK. LOOKS LIKE WE WILL GET SOME DEBRIS
CLOUDINESS FROM EARLIER CONVECTION...BUT ANY CLOUDS SHOULD MOVE
THROUGH QUICK.

MAY GET MORE CLOUDS EARLY THURSDAY FROM MCS MOVING ACROSS GRTLKS
REGION.

NO CHANGES ON THE MARINE FORECAST.

PW

EARLIER DISCUSION BELOW...

SHORT TERM:  FOR TNGT...ONLY ISSUES ARE 1) WL TEMPS STAY UP AS HI AS
GDNC IS ADVERTISING FOR METRO AREAS...AND 2) WL ANY DEBRIS CLDNS FM
EITHER UPSTRM MCS MAKE IT TO OKX CWA TNGT/OVRNGT?  FOR 1...HV OPTED
FOR THE COOLER OF THE MAV/MET/FWC SOLNS...THO DIFFS ARENT ALL THAT
GREAT.  UPR 70S JUST LOOKS A TAD HI FOR KLGA TNGT AND ALL METRO MINT
VALS DO SEEM A CPL OF DEG HI...SPCLY GIVEN CRNT TDS (THO THEY SHUD
BOUNCE BACK UP LTR THIS EVNG/OVRNGT).  OUTSIDE OF METRO AREA...NMBRS
ARE QUITE CLS AND BLEND USED WHEN NEEDED.

STARTING BACK TWD THE MUGGIES TMRW.  HV OPTED TO KEEP PCPN MENT OUT
FOR TMRW AFTN...SPC DOESNT HV RGN IN EVEN A GENL RISK.  AMS LOOKS
TO BE WKLY CAPPED AND NO REAL FORCING AVBL.

LONGER TERM:  NXT CHC FOR PCPN LOOKS TO BE FRI AFTN...AND BYND.
MDLS ARE ALL SLOWING DOWN NXT FNTL AND GIVEN UPR FLOW...THIS DOES
LOOK LIKE THE CORRECT TREND.  FLOW BASICALLY ZONAL BY SAT AND
CONSENSUS HERE IS THAT FNT EITHER SAGS S OF AREA GRDLY DURG SAT AND
MAYBE JUST WASHES OUT ACRS AREA.  EITHER WAY...OPTING TO KEEP CLDS
AND CHC SHRA/TS IN RGN LONGER (INTO SAT AFTN VS FRI NITE AS IN PRVS
FCST PCKGS)...THO POPS WL RMN IN LO CHC CAT FRI NITE-SAT AFTN.
ANTHR CDFNT SAGS SWD FOR TUE.  ? THERE WL BE SIMLR TO WKND
CDFNT...DOES IT GO THRU OR STALL N OF AREA?  HCP PROGS NOW KEEPING
THAT ONE N AND GIVEN LACK OF BIG CHGS TO UPR FLOW...THIS PROBLY NOT
A BAD IDEA.  WL GO CHC TUE AFTN/EVNG CHC AND WL GO FOR A DRY WED
FCST ATTM.

MARINE:  NO FLAGS.  WNDS/WVS SHUD RMN WELL BLO SCA CRIT THRU DAY 5.

FINAL TEXT PRODUCTS GONE IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE.

CT...NONE.
NY...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Eastern Passaic

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Bergen

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Bergen forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Drought, Essex

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Essex forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Drought, Union

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Drought, Hudson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Hudson forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 40.731, -74.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Passaic

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (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 New Jersey in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, 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: 5318387, 5318388, 5318389, 5318390, 5318391, 5319681.