Heat in Virginia, July 2 to 4, 2002

Name: Heat in Virginia, July 2 to 4, 2002
Start: 2002-07-02T10:00
End: 2002-07-04T20:00
Location: Virginia

July 2 to 4, 2002 · NWS LWX · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

High pressure remained stationary off the Delmarva coastline during the 1st week of July. This resulted in a prolonged period of hot and humid weather across the Mid Atlantic region.

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 remained stationary off the Delmarva coastline during the 1st week of July. This resulted in a prolonged period of hot and humid weather across the Mid Atlantic region. Between July 2nd and 4th, high temperatures rose into the lower to middle 90s and dew points reached into the lower 70s. This resulted in heat index values reaching 100 to 110 degrees during the afternoon.

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 Jul 2, 9:30 AM EST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 9:30 AM EST, 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON
1030 AM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

CURRENT FCST IN GOOD SHAPE...AND PLAN ON MAKING FEW CHGS ATTM. 12Z
MODIFIED IAD SOUNDING VERY UNSTABLE TDY WITH AROUND 3KJ/KG CAPE AND
NEGLIGIBLE CINH. SUBTLE WK SW TROFS MOVING THROUGH THE AREA...ONE
CURRENTLY...AND A WEAKER ONE LATE AFTN. ALMOST NO SFC CONVERGENCE
WITH RIDGE AXIS OVERHEAD. PWATS KEEP CLIMBING AND WITH VERY SMALL
STORM MOTION VECTORS...WOULD XPCT HVY RAFL TO BE A CONCERN.
HOWEVER...DUE TO THE LACK OF ANY SIG FORCING TO GET THE PARCELS
RISING...WOULD XPCT ONLY WDLY SCT COVERAGE AT BEST OVER THE HIGER
TERRAIN. GIVEN STEERING FLOW...THE STORMS WOULD BE MOVING SLOWLY TO
THE SW...SO ANYWHERE EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE XPCTD TO BE DRY TODAY.

AND THE HEAT ROLLS ON...CURRENT HEAT ADV LOOKS GOOD ATTM...FCST
MAXES TODAY COMBINED WITH STEADILY CLIMBING TDS SUPPORT HEAT INDICES
AROUND 100F TODAY. MINS TNGT WON/T OFFER ANY RELIEF WITH TEMPS ONLY
FALLING BACK TO THE MID 70S IN THE METRO AREAS.

QUIET ON THE WATERS TODAY.

OTRW...NO OTHER CHANGES...UPDATED ZFP/RDF OUT SHORTLY.

MANNING

.LWX...
DC...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONE DCZ001.
MD...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES MDZ002>007...
MDZ009>011...MDZ013>014...MDZ016>018.
VA...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES VAZ025>031...
VAZ036>042...VAZ050>057.
WV...HEAT ADVISORY THRU WEDNESDAY FOR ZONES WVZ048>053...WVZ055.

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, Nelson

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Albemarle / Charlotttesville

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Albemarle / Charlotttesville forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Rockingham / Harrisonburg

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Rockingham / Harrisonburg forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Shenandoah

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Page

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Warren

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Frederick / Winchester

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Frederick / Winchester forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Clarke

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Loudoun

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Loudoun forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Fauquier

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Fauquier forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Rappahannock

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Culpeper

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Madison

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Greene

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Orange

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, King George

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Stafford

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Prince William / Manassas

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Prince William / Manassas forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Fairfax

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 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, Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church

When: July 2, 10:00 AM EST to July 4, 8:00 PM EST
Where: Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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, 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: 5308127, 5308128, 5308129, 5308130, 5308131, 5308132, 5308133, 5308134, 5308135, 5308136, 5308137, 5308138, 5308139, 5308140, 5308141, 5308142, 5308143, 5308144, 5308145, 5308146, 5308147, 5308148.