Cold in Pennsylvania, April 9 to 11, 1997

An unseasonably cold air mass from Canada moved across Pennsylvania from April 9th through the 11th. The cold weather did an estimated $25 million dollars in damage to the peach and apple crops in the state. About 90 percent of the $24 million-a-year peach crop might have been killed and it was estimated from 20 to 100 percent of the $50 million-a-year apple crop could have died. Some damage was also reported in the pears, plums and apricots orchards.A cold front moved through the region during the night of the 8th and ushered in this unseasonably cold air mass. The high pressure system at the center of it reached the Great Lakes the morning of the 10th and the Middle Atlantic Coast the morning of the 11th. Southwest winds around this high then modified the air mass and returned temperatures closer to seasonal levels. Low temperatures those three mornings were below the freezing mark in most areas. Unseasonably warm weather for most of late February and March preceding this cold spell had plants blooming about 10 to 14 days ahead of schedule. Although the weather was colder than usual, no records were broken. The coldest morning in most places was the 10th. The coldest temperatures included 22F in Perkasie (Bucks County) and East Stroudsburg (Monroe County) the morning of the 10th, 25F at the Lehigh Valley International Airport the morning of the 10th, 26F in Reading (Berks County), Pottstown (Montgomery County) and Doylestown (Bucks County) the morning of the 10th, 28F in Crum Creek (Delaware County) and Levittown (Bucks County) the morning of the 11th and 29F at the Philadelphia International Airport the morning of the 10th.