New Jersey, 2002

Drought in New Jersey, January 1 to 31, 2002

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

Dry mild weather continued for the fourth consecutive month across the region. 75 inches, or 50 percent of normal.

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

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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.

Dry mild weather continued for the fourth consecutive month across the region. The total average rainfall for January was 1.75 inches, or 50 percent of normal. Rainfall was below average for the last seven consecutive months, yielding an average deficit of 12.13 inches.The combined storage in the 13 major reservoirs serving northeast New Jersey was 44.1 percent capacity, or 36 percent below normal. Capacities in the individual systems at the end of the month were:Newark Reservoirs 42.8% (Percent capacity)Jersey City Reservoirs 46.4% North Jersey District 41.7%United Water of New Jersey 49.9%Streamflows in New Jersey remained below normal throughout January. As a consequence of declining water levels, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) upgraded the drought watch to a drought warning on January 25th for Passaic, Bergen, Essex, and Hudson counties. A drought watch remained in effect for Union 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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 8:30 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 8:30 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
830 PM EST MON DEC 31 2001

WL UPDT THE ZNS WITH A CPL OF SML CHGS OVRNGT. SOME HI LVL CLDNS -
CI - SPILLING UP FM THE S. SO WL GO WITH MSTLY CLR TNGT RATHER THAN
FLAT OUT CLR. AND WL ADJUST THE WNDS AS SPDS HV COME DOWN THIS EVE.

.OKX...SCA FOR SEAS FOR CSTL WTRS...ANZ350-353-355.

EY

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, Western Passaic

When
January 1, 12:00 AM EST to January 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)

Drought, Eastern Passaic

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

Drought, Essex

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

Drought, Hudson

When
January 1, 12:00 AM EST to January 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, Union

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

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

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, January 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: 5277337, 5277338, 5277339, 5277340, 5277341, 5277342.