Drought in North Carolina, August 1 to 31, 2002

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

August 1 to 31, 2002 · NWS GSP · 29 events in 29 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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: 29

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 GSP wrote it up.

The water supply situation reached crisis levels in some communities, as the effects of the long term drought continued to plague western North Carolina. Particularly hard hit were several Piedmont communities along the Interstate 77 corridor. The city of Shelby was forced to buy water from surrounding communities and even from private companies and citizens. In Statesville, emergency construction of wells and a dam was necessary to prevent the city from running out of water, as the South Yadkin River reached historically low levels. Water levels on area lakes were as much as 10 feet below full pond. Most of the larger towns and cities along the I-77 corridor had imposed mandatory water restrictions by the end of the month, including the Charlotte metro area.

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 9:00 PM EST, 3 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
1000 PM EDT WED JUL 31 2002

CONVECTION CONTINUES TO DIE OUT OVER THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT THIS
EVENING...AS THE REGION HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY WORKED OVER BY
CONVECTION NEAR THE SFC TROUGH AXIS AND ASSOCIATED WITH NORTHWARD
MOVING OUTFLOWS. SHOULD BE ABLE TO REMOVE POPS SHORTLY AS
STABILIZATION CONTINUES. A FEW ROGUE CELLS HAVE DEVELOPED LATE THIS
EVENING OVER THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR...AND LATEST RUC SHOWS SOME
WEAK VORTICITY ALOFT MOVING SOUTH OVER THE REGION EAST OF THE UPPER
RIDGE OVERNIGHT. FEATURES ARE HARD TO FIND ON WATER VAPOR...
HOWEVER...AND ANY COVERAGE SHOULD NOT BE WORTH MENTIONING. WILL THUS
REMOVE ALL POPS WITH UPCOMING UPDATE PACKAGE. WILL ALSO INSERT
PATCHY FOG MENTION IN SOAKED SOUTHERN PIEDMONT.

AXIS OF DRIER DEWPOINTS PERSIST ALONG INTERSTATE 85 NORTH AND WEST
OF THE CONVECTION...PROVIDING A LITTLE MORE ROOM FOR DOWNWARD
MOVEMENT OF TEMPS OVERNIGHT. AREAS RECEIVING CONSIDERABLE
PRECIPITATION ARE ALREADY AT OR NEAR FORECAST MINS. WILL GENERALLY
ADJUST MOST LOCATIONS DOWN A NOTCH OR SO...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF NRN
NC MTNS WHERE DEWPOINTS ARE RUNNING HIGHER THAN FORECAST.

FCSTID = 33
GSP   70  91  70  91 /  10  30  30  10
AND   70  91  70  91 /  10  30  30  10
CLT   70  92  71  92 /  10  30  30  10
HKY   68  89  66  88 /  10  20  20  10
AVL   63  84  62  82 /  10  30  20  10

.GSP...
GA...NONE.
NC...NONE.
SC...NONE.

HG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

29 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Mitchell

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mitchell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.013, -82.163 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Northern Jackson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Northern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Polk

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Drought, Rowan

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Rowan forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.640, -80.525 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Rutherford

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Rutherford forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Drought, Southern Jackson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Southern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.287, -83.141 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Swain

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Swain forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.487, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Transylvania

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Transylvania forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.202, -82.798 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Union

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 34.988, -80.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Yancey

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Yancey forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.899, -82.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Iredell

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Iredell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.807, -80.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lincoln

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.486, -81.224 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Macon

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.150, -83.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Madison

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.858, -82.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, McDowell

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: McDowell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Drought, Mecklenburg

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mecklenburg forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.247, -80.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Alexander

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Alexander forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.921, -81.177 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Avery

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Avery forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.077, -81.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Buncombe

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Buncombe forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.611, -82.530 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Burke

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Drought, Cabarrus

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cabarrus forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.387, -80.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Caldwell

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Drought, Catawba

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Catawba forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.663, -81.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cleveland

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.334, -81.556 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Davie

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Davie forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.929, -80.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gaston

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Gaston forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.294, -81.180 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Graham

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Graham forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.350, -83.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Haywood

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Haywood forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.556, -82.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Henderson

When: August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 35.336, -82.480 (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 North Carolina in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, 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: 5312784, 5312785, 5312786, 5312787, 5312788, 5312789, 5312790, 5312791, 5312792, 5312793, 5314204, 5314205, 5314206, 5314207, 5314208, 5314209, 5314374, 5314375, 5314376, 5314377, 5314378, 5314379, 5314380, 5314381, 5314382, 5314383, 5314384, 5314385, 5314386.