Drought in New Jersey, July 1 to 31, 2002

Name: Drought in New Jersey, July 1 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-07-01T00:00
End: 2002-07-31T23:59
Location: New Jersey

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

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.

After an encouraging 4 month period of increasing rainfall and improving drought conditions, the region experienced a disappointing setback during July. Rainfall during the month was well below normal. The Brookhaven Hydrologic Service Area (HSA) received 1.62 inches of rain during July, which was 41 percent of normal or 2.33 inches below normal.At the end of July, 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.The combined storage in the 13 major reservoirs serving Northeast New Jersey on July 31st was 83.6 percent capacity, which was within 10 percent of normal. Capacities in the individual reservoirs on July 31st were: Newark Reservoirs 71.9% (Percent capacity)Jersey City Reservoirs 88.1%North Jersey District 88.3%United Water of New Jersey 75.2%The State of New Jersey extended the state-wide Drought Emergency that it issued on March 4th, through July 31st. Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties were included in this emergency.

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

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

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
915 PM EDT SUN JUN 30 2002

BEING THREATENED BY ST FROM OFF SRN ENGLAND. SOME MOVED ACRS ERN
SUFFOLK BUT DISSIPATED. ATTM ITS JUST SKIMMING MTP AND IS ACRS RI
WITH GON CT REPORTING CLR. WNDS ARE SLY AND WL BCM MORE SW OVRNIGHT.
WL CONT WITH P/CLDY. TEMPS IN BALLPARK. SEE NO REASON TO RMV SLIGHT
CHC POPS INLAND. REST OF FSCT ON TRACK...NO CHANGES. SO WL LET ZONES
RIDE.

MARINE...AMENDED EARLIER FOR WRN COASTAL WATERS...SANDY HOOK TO FIRE
ISLAND INET...WHERE SEA BREEZE STRONGER.

********PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FROM 2:50 PM****************************

TRICKY FORECAST THIS AFTERNOON. MODEL MAIN FEATURES ARE CLOSE NEXT
48 TO 60 HOURS.

ALL MODELS INCLUDING THREE OPERATIONAL ETA...NGM AND AVN MODELS
OUTPUT SCATTERED CONVECTION LATER TONIGHT. WE LOOKED AT RUC THROUGH
03Z AND LOCAL SUSB 12KM MM5 MODEL AND THEY ALSO ARE PICKING UP ON
CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS THIS EVENING WELL TO OUR NORTH AND TRACKS IT
SOUTH ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. WE THINK IT IS PICKING
UP ON IMPULSE MOVING ACROSS GRTLKS REGION ALONG WITH A SLIGHT
RETROGRESSION OF UPPER LOW EAST OF MAINE. COLD CLOUD TOPS SEEN
ROTATING SOUTHWARD ACROSS ME AND TOWARD NH/VT. WITH ALL THE ABOVE IN
MIND...WE WILL INCLUDE A 20 POP AT THIS TIME AND WILL HAVE TO KEEP
AN EYE ON THIS POSSIBILITY LATER ON. POP FORECAST WILL STAY TO THE
NORTH. HOPEFULLY THE ETA MOS CATEGORICAL FORECAST DOES NOT PAN OUT.

ON MONDAY...THE INSTABILITY INCREASES AND LOOKING AT ETA
PROFILES...A CAPE CLOSE TO 1000 J/KG IS NOTED. AGAIN...ANY BOUNDARY
COULD POP A TSTM LATE IN THE DAY SO WILL INCLUDE.

MORE OF THE SAME FOR TUESDAY. THIS DAY LOOKS TO BE THE HOTTEST AND
IF WINDS BECOME WEST...MANY LOCATIONS COULD SEE MID 90S. HUMIDITY
LEVELS WILL ALSO BE INCREASING WITH HEAT INDICES TOPPING 100 ACROSS
PORTIONS OF THE CWA. HEAT ADVISORIES MAY BE NEEDED FOR URBAN AREAS
DOWN THE ROAD.

TAKING AT LOOK AT AVN RUN THROUGH 120 HOUR...I SEE SOME DIFFERENCES.
ULTIMATELY THE FORECAST WILL NOT NEED TO BE CHANGED MUCH. IT LOOKS
LIKE UPPER RIDGE ESTABLISHES ITSELF AND KEEPS THE WESTERLIES ALONG
CANADIAN BORDER. I THOUGHT THE NEXT TROUGH WOULD DIG FURTHER AND
BRING COOLER AIR IN HERE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ON A NORTHERLY FLOW.
INSTEAD...CHANCE POPS AT BEST WITH A MUCH WEAKER FRONT ON WEDNESDAY.
THEN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY SEEM TO DRY OUT SLIGHTLY...BUT WINDS WILL
BE RATHER LIGHT. WILL KEEP EXTENDED DRY AT THIS POINT...BUT UPPER
TROUGH DOES NOT DIG ACROSS NORTHEAST UNTIL FRIDAY.

MARINE...NO FLAGS NEEDED NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

*********************************************************************

.OKX...
CT...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
NY...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, Hudson

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

Drought, Essex

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

Drought, Bergen

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

Drought, Eastern Passaic

When: July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 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, Western Passaic

When: July 1, 12:00 AM EST to July 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, 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: 5320614, 5320615, 5320616, 5320617, 5320618, 5320619.