Rainfall returning to above normal levels in September was too late to be helpful for farmers. For example in Franklin Township in Gloucester County, the corn died before reaching maturity. The dry weather ended with the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna on September 6th. The combination of the June heat, the August hail storm and drought into early September led the United States Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer to declare ten central and southern New Jersey Counties a natural disaster area on September 22nd. Mercer, Monmouth, Burlington, Ocean, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May Counties were covered by the declaration. This made farmers who suffered thirty percent or more direct losses to be eligible for low interest emergency loans from the Farm Services Agency. Loans could cover up to 100 percent of the dollar value of crop losses. In September, in central and southern New Jersey, county weighted precipitation totals ranged from 4.4 inches in Cumberland County to 7.1 inches in Monmouth County. Normal is around 3.5 inches.

Drought in EASTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in EASTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in WESTERN MONMOUTH, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in CUMBERLAND, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in EASTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in EASTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in MERCER, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in WESTERN OCEAN, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in SALEM, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in WESTERN ATLANTIC, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought in WESTERN CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY
From 01-SEP-08 00:00:00 to 05-SEP-08 23:59:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Other Federal Agency