Heat in Virginia, August 12 to 19, 2002

Name: Heat in Virginia, August 12 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-08-12T10:00
End: 2002-08-19T20:00
Location: Virginia

August 12 to 19, 2002 · NWS LWX · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 19 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: 22

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 LWX wrote it up.

High pressure sitting off the Atlantic coastline pumped hot and humid air into the region between August 12th and 19th. Temperatures soared well into the 90s during the afternoon each day and heat index values approached 100 degrees. Several high temperature records were broken during the heat wave. At Dulles International Airport, a record high temperature of 98 degrees was reached on the 12th and 13th. On the 18th, a new record high of 97 was set and on the 19th the mercury reached a record setting 95 degrees. At Washington Reagan National Airport, a record high temperature of 99 degrees was set on the 14th. The mercury rose to a record breaking 98 degrees on the 18th and 19th. Since record keeping began in Washington D.C. in 1871, there have only been two other years where a string of 8 consecutive days that reached 95 degrees or above has been recorded.

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 Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 9:45 AM EST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 9:45 AM EST, 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1045 AM EDT MON AUG 12 2002

12Z IAD SOUNDING SUGGESTS A MAX OF 97 THIS AFTRN. ALL AVAILABLE
GUIDANCE SUGGESTS MID 90S. WILL BUMP UP TEMPS JUST A NOTCH OVR THE
ENTIRE AREA.

MODIFIED IAD SOUNDING GIVES A CAPE OVR 3000 J/KG AND AN LI OF -7C.
IN ADDITION...850MB TO 500MB LAPSE RATES INCREASE A BIT DURING THE
AFTRN. AIR MASS WILL BE UNSTABLE. WEAK VORT MAX PASSING BY JUST TO
THE N OF THE AREA AND WEAK SFC BOUNDARY SETTING UP OVR THE CWA MAY
ACT AS A TRIGGER FOR CONVECTION. 30 POPS SEEM OK. WILL TIME ACTIVITY
LATE IN THE DAY E OF THE BLUE RIDGE AND ANYTIME DURING THE AFTRN W
OF THE BLUE RIDGE.

NO CHGS TO 2ND PD OR BEYOND.

WALSTON

---------------------------------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS AFD BELOW...

SHORT TERM FCST THRU TUE NIGHT...

S/W PASSES THRU TODAY ALONG WITH A DROP IN LIS. BEST CHCS NRN
ZONES. TEMPERATURES INTO THE MID 90S WILL COMBINE WITH HIGHER DEW
POINTS TUES TO PUSH HEAT INDICES OVER 100. TUE DOESNT LOOK VERY
GOOD FOR CONVECTION. PULLED BACK ON POPS AND JUST LEFT CHC IN FAR
MTNS.

BMW
---------------------------------------------------------------------

LONG-TERM (WED-SUN)

CONTINUED SRLY FLOW THE NEXT SVRL DAYS WILL RESULT IN AN
INCREASINGLY MOIST AIR MASS ACROSS THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION. WILL
CONTINUE WITH A CHANCE POPS FOR WED AS AIR MASS WILL BE MOIST AND
UNSTABLE.  BEST CHANCE FOR CONVECTION APPEARS TO BE ON THURS AS AVN
LIFTS A VORT FROM THE NORTHEAST GULFMEX UP THE ERN SEABOARD.  IN
ADDITION...S/W TROUGH NOW OVR WRN MT WILL DIVE SOUTHEAST TODAY AND
MOVE RAPIDLY EWD ACROSS THE PLAINS WED AND INTO THE ERN GREAT LKS BY
THURS.  LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE ALONG WITH VORT MOVING UP
FROM THE GULF SHOULD RESULT IN HIGHER COVERAGE OF TSTMS.
THUS...HAVE RAISED POPS TO 40 PERCENT THURS.  DRY AIR MOVES IN FOR
THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPS REMAINING GENERALLY IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOW
90S.

ROSA

.LWX...
DC...NONE.
MD...NONE.
VA...NONE.
WV...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

22 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Clarke

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Clarke forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Frederick

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Warren

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Page

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Page forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Shenandoah

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Shenandoah forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Rockingham

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Rockingham forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Albemarle

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Albemarle forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Augusta

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Augusta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Nelson

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Nelson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.787, -78.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Arlington

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Arlington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Fairfax

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Fairfax forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Prince William

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Prince William forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Stafford

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Stafford forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, King George

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: King George forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.274, -77.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Spotsylvania

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Spotsylvania forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Orange

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Greene

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Madison

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Culpeper

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Culpeper forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Rappahannock

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Rappahannock forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Fauquier

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Fauquier forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Loudoun

When: August 12, 10:00 AM EST to August 19, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Loudoun forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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 Virginia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Virginia, 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: 5313849, 5313850, 5313851, 5313852, 5313853, 5313854, 5313855, 5313856, 5313857, 5315185, 5315186, 5315187, 5315188, 5315189, 5315190, 5315191, 5315192, 5315193, 5315194, 5315195, 5315196, 5315197.