Heat, Delaware Beaches / X E Sussex
- When
- January 3, 10:00 AM EST to January 6, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware Beaches / X E Sussex forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Delaware, January 3 to 6, 1997
A persistent west to southwest flow throughout the start of 1997 led to unseasonably warm weather from the 3rd through the 6th across Delaware. The warmest days statewide were the 3rd and the 5th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 PHI wrote it up.
A persistent west to southwest flow throughout the start of 1997 led to unseasonably warm weather from the 3rd through the 6th across Delaware. The warmest days statewide were the 3rd and the 5th. A weak backdoor cold front brought mostly cloudy skies and slightly cooler temperatures to the northern part of the state on the 4th. In spite of a cold frontal passage, during the 6th, some places in Sussex County still managed to reach into the 60s. A record breaking high of 62 degrees was set at the New Castle County Airport on the 3rd. The warmest day though was the 5th when the high reached 65 degrees, but was not a record. Georgetown reached 69 degrees on the 4th.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Inland Sussex
- When
- January 3, 10:00 AM EST to January 6, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Inland Sussex forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Kent
- When
- January 3, 10:00 AM EST to January 5, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Kent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.096, -75.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, New Castle
- When
- January 3, 10:00 AM EST to January 5, 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- New Castle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.578, -75.639 (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
- Flash Flood in Utah, January 3, 1997
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 3 to 5, 1997
- Flood in California, January 3, 1997
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, January 3 to 5, 1997
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 3 to 5, 1997
- Heat in New Jersey, January 3 to 5, 1997
- Heat in Pennsylvania, January 3 to 5, 1997
- Dense Fog in Florida, January 3, 1997
- Ice Storm in Minnesota, January 3 to 4, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 3 to 4, 1997
- Heat in Maryland, January 3 to 6, 1997
- Ice Storm in South Dakota, January 3 to 4, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, January 1997
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: 5596243, 5596244, 5596245, 5596246.