Heat in New Jersey, August 11 to 20, 2002

Name: Heat in New Jersey, August 11 to 20, 2002
Start: 2002-08-11T11:00
End: 2002-08-20T19:00
Location: New Jersey

August 11 to 20, 2002 · NWS PHI · 17 events in 17 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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: 17

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 longest run of days with high temperatures of 90 or greater for the summer occurred across central and southern New Jersey from the 11th through the 20th. This was the longest heat wave for the state since the twelve day heat wave during the summer of 1999. It also solidified August and the summer of 2002 as one of the ten hottest summers on record. Along with the heat came the humidity. The hottest weather occurred for most places on the 13th and 14th. Offshore winds made the 17th the warmest day along the immediate shore. A couple of weak cold fronts dissipated as they tried to cross the state during this heat wave. The only effect was to keep temperatures and humidity levels from getting any higher inland from the 15th through the 20th. A stronger cold front moved through the state on the 20th and ended the run of hot weather. Both Public Service Electric and Gas and the PJM Interconnection issued advisories on urging customers to conserve electricity. About 3,000 persons lost power because of th heat in Monmouth County on the 13th. One heat related death occurred in Burlington County. A 77-year-old man was found dead in Mansfield Township on the 17th. His bedroom temperature was 104 degrees. In Sussex County, two teenagers became ill (heat exhaustion) after playing sports during the afternoon of the 13th. Highest reported temperatures included 101 degrees in Vernon (Sussex County), 99 degrees in Mount Holly (Burlington County), Somerville (Somerset County), 98 degrees in Trenton (Mercer County), 97 degrees at the Atlantic City International Airport, Millville (Cumberland County) and Belmar (Monmouth 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 Aug 11, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 10:00 AM EST, 1 hour before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1100 AM EDT SUN AUG 11 2002

MINOR UPDATE TO ZONES...MAINLY TO ADJUST A FEW TEMPS THIS AFTN.

.PHI...NONE.

KRAUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Camden

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cumberland

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Gloucester

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Hunterdon

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Mercer

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Middlesex

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Morris

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Northwestern Burlington

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Northwestern Burlington forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Salem

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Somerset

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Southeastern Burlington

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southeastern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Sussex

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Warren

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Western Atlantic

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Western Cape May

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Western Monmouth

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Western Ocean

When: August 11, 11:00 AM EST to August 20, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (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, Northwestern Burlington	2002-08-17	77	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 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: 5318275, 5318276, 5318277, 5318278, 5318279, 5318280, 5318281, 5318282, 5318283, 5318284, 5318285, 5318286, 5318287, 5318288, 5318289, 5318290, 5318291.