Missouri, 1997

Heat in Missouri, July 26 to 28, 1997

July 26 to 28, 1997 · NWS PAH · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

High temperatures were in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees for three consecutive days. High humidity pushed heat index values to between 105 and 115 degrees.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
24
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 PAH wrote it up.

High temperatures were in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees for three consecutive days. High humidity pushed heat index values to between 105 and 115 degrees. An air conditioning unit failed on an office building in Cape Girardeau. Four overheated female employees in the office building were taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Area hospitals treated at least a dozen people for dehydration or other heat-related problems during the heat wave. The highest temperature at Cape Girardeau was 100 degrees during this heat wave.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Bollinger

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Bollinger forecast zone
Injuries
12 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A heat wave spanning a three-day period caused heat stress problems for the unprepared. A cooling unit of an air conditioner in a Cape Girardeau office building failed, causing four employees to require medical attention. The four women spent a good part of the day in the room without air conditioning. The women became lethargic and overheated, and were taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Over a four-day period, Southeast Missouri hospitals treated at least a dozen people for heat related illness in their emergency rooms. About half of the cases involved elderly residents. Four people were treated for dehydration at one hospital on July 27. High temperatures were in the upper 90s to near 100 degrees for three consecutive days. High humidity sent the heat index up to near 115 degrees.

Heat, Butler

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Coordinates
36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cape Girardeau

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Cape Girardeau forecast zone
Coordinates
37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Carter

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Carter forecast zone
Coordinates
36.941, -90.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Mississippi

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Mississippi forecast zone
Coordinates
36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, New Madrid

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
New Madrid forecast zone
Coordinates
36.595, -89.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Perry

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Perry forecast zone
Coordinates
37.707, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Ripley

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Ripley forecast zone
Coordinates
36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Scott

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Coordinates
37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Stoddard

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Stoddard forecast zone
Coordinates
36.856, -89.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Wayne

When
July 26, 11:00 AM CST to July 28, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Injuries
12 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
37.113, -90.461 (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

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, July 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: 5609821, 5609822, 5609823, 5609824, 5609825, 5609826, 5609827, 5609828, 5609829, 5609830, 5609831.