Wildfire in New Jersey, March 10, 2002

Name: Wildfire in New Jersey, March 10, 2002
Start: 2002-03-10T17:00
End: 2002-03-10T19:00
Location: New Jersey

March 10, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

m. EST.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 1

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.

A brush fire, largely exacerbated the strong gusty westnorthwest winds, scorched about 200 acres of brush in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township around 5 p.m. EST. The fire began near Main Street and Broadway. The strong winds fanned the fire and brought it close to several houses on Park Avenue, but none were damaged. About 100 firefighters fought the blaze which was extinguished about two hours later.

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 Mar 10, 3:35 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 3:35 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
335 PM EST SUN MAR 10 2002

HAVE STILL SEEN SEVERAL METARS IN AND AROUND THE FA REACH THE
27/40KT WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS.
HOWEVER...MODELS FCSTG WINDS ALOFT TO BEGIN TO DIMINISH...EVEN
THOUGH SOUNDINGS STAY DRY ADIABATIC UP TO H8 FOR THE FIRST PART OF
TONIGHT. WILL THEREFORE LET THE WIND ADVISORY EXPIRE...BUT WILL KEEP
THE GALE WARNING INTO THE EVENING. OTHERWISE...EXPECT THE CU FIELD
IN THE NW TO GRADUALLY DISSIPATE OVERNIGHT...ALTHOUGH A FEW FLURRIES
THIS EVENING NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION GIVEN THE SOUNDINGS. ELSEWHERE
TONIGHT EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR OR CLEAR SKIES. DECOUPLING WILL BE
DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF WINDS FOR MUCH OF NIGHT...AND GENERALLY WENT
WITH GUIDANCE TEMPS.

DRY TMRW AND TMRW NITE...THOUGH CLOUDS EXPECTED TO BE ON THE
INCREASE LATER IN THE THIRD PD. TEMP FCST TMRW A COMBO OF
PERSISTENCE...GUIDANCE AND LOCAL SCHEME. WHETHER OR NOT WE RADIATE
TMRW NITE DEPENDS ON HOW QUICKLY CLOUDS MOVE IN...AND EVEN SLOWER
AVN BRINGS IN A FAIR AMOUNT OF HIGH CLOUDS FAIRLY EARLY. SHAVED
TEMPS A LTL HERE AND THERE...BUT GENERALLY STAYED CLOSE TO GUIDANCE.

ON TUE...AVN IS SLOWER AND SHARPER WITH THE APCHG SHORT WAVE MOVING
INTO THE SERN US. AFTER LOOKING AT SEFS...WENT BETWEEN THE ETA AND
AVN. BRINGING IN LIKELY POPS N...AND CAT S. SOUNDINGS BOTH MODELS
SUGGEST PCPN COULD START AS -SN NW BEFORE A CHANGEOVER. THE SFC
PATTERN OF THE MODELS DOES NOT SEEM TO SUGGEST A STRONG WEDGE OF
COLD AIR HANGING IN...ALTHOUGH WEAK CAD IN THE NWRN ZONES IS NOT OUT
OF QUESTION...SO WILL NOT PLAY WITH ANY ZR THERE THIS PACKAGE.
WILL...HOWEVER...CUT MAX TEMPS A BIT AS EVEN THE ETA KEEPS THE SFC
AND H8 LOWS MAINLY S OF FA.

SINCE TIDES THIS NOON ONLY REACHED ABOUT ONE FT BELOW
MLLW...THINKING IS THAT THEY WILL NOT REACH TWO FT BELOW TONIGHT AS
WINDS BEGIN TO DIMINISH.

FCSTID = 45
MPO   13  33  24  38 /   0   0  10  70
ABE   19  42  26  42 /   0   0  10  70
RDG   20  42  26  42 /   0   0  10  70
PHL   25  44  29  46 /   0   0  10  70
12N   18  40  24  38 /   0   0  10  70
SMQ   20  43  25  44 /   0   0  10  70
TTN   22  43  27  44 /   0   0  10  70
MIV   21  43  27  49 /   0   0  10  80
ACY   29  42  37  47 /   0   0  10  80
ILG   23  44  29  46 /   0   0  10  70
DOV   23  43  29  49 /   0   0  10  80
GED   23  43  29  49 /   0   0  10  80
ESN   23  43  29  49 /   0   0  10  80

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.
MARINE...GALE WARNING DE BAY AND COAST

MPD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 10, 11:30 AM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1130 AM EST SUN MAR 10 2002

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1200 AM    READING                   PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   BERKS                          SCATTERED TREES DOWN
                                          JUST WEST OF READING

1210 AM    TOBYHANNA                 PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   MONROE                         TREE BRANCHES DOWN
                                          A FEW TREES DOWN
                                          ELSEWHERE COUNTYWIDE

1210 AM    ALBRIGHTSVILLE            PA   53 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
03/10/02   CARBON

1220 AM    SLATINGTON                PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   LEHIGH                         A COUPLE OF TREES DOWN
                                          MOSTLY HOUSE ALARMS
                                          GOING OFF

1235 AM    SNYDERSVILLE              PA   50 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
03/10/02   MONROE

1245 AM    WILLIAMS TWP              PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   NORTHAMPTON                    NUMEROUS LIMBS AND
                                          A FEW TREES DOWN.
                                          OBSTACLE COURSE TO
                                          GET TO WORK

0105 AM    LAYTON                    NJ   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   SUSSEX                         TREES DOWN WESTERN
                                          PORTION OF COUNTY

0100 AM    COUNTYWIDE                NJ   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   WARREN                         EOC REPORTED TREES DOWN
                                          AND STRUCTURAL ROOF DAMAGE

0135 AM    DOVER                     NJ   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   MORRIS                         LARGE LIMBS DOWN
                                          POWER OUT IN TOWN

0155 AM    JUNIATA PARK              PA   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
03/10/02   PHILADELPHIA

0200 AM    NEW HOPE                  PA   WIND DAMAGE
03/10/02   BUCKS                          SCATTERED LIMBS DOWN
                                          IN COUNTY

RK/TG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Monmouth

When: March 10, 5:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Monmouth County, Port Monmouth
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

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, March 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: 5286466.