In 2022, a very severe drought developed in the Debrecen area. The average yield of the maize experiments at the University of Debrecen was lower than ever before. On several plots the crop yielded practically nothing. The evaluation of the meteorological conditions of such an exceptional year is essential to increase knowledge on the drought susceptibility of maize and to clarify the limits of stress tolerance. As far as possible, meteorological data measured at or near the experimental site should be used. In response to this need, we have investigated and presented the meteorological conditions on the agricultural campus, especially for maize. An important factor in the exceptional nature of the 2022 drought was the lack of sufficient precipitation to recharge the deeper layers of the soils during the previous winter. April was still average in terms of rainfall, but thereafter a very significant rainfall deficit developed. In the three summer months, a total of 66 mm of rain fell, 115 mm below average. The lack of water and its adverse effects were exacerbated by the fact that temperatures in the May-August period were significantly higher than normal. In particular, the summer months were much warmer than the long-term average, with positive temperature anomalies of 3.4 °C, 2.4 °C and 2.9 °C respectively.