This year has been unusually warm in Delaware, and may go into the books as one of the state's hottest and driest ever. That's because the first half of 2002 was the second hottest January-to-June period since 1895. To boot, New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties - at present - are all running rainfall deficits ranging from 5 to 7 inches so far this year.

But the warmth and dryness began even before that. Take the last twelve months in Delaware. The period from August 2001 to July 2002 was not only the warmest such stretch on record but also the second driest. In New Jersey, the same twelve months also rank as the warmest and third driest. Across both states, the accumulated deficit in rainfall during that period is between 12 and 17 inches.

Certainly the first few weeks of August have done little to buck these trends, with about a dozen days of 90^oF-heat and little in the way of rainfall. In fact, so far, this has been the warmest August on record in Wilmington.