Pennsylvania, 1997

Drought in Pennsylvania, August 1 to 31, 1997

August 1 to 31, 1997 · NWS BGM · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

7 drought, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$1.4 million
Events
7

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.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Bradford

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Bradford forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.789, -76.515 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A very dry summer finally culminated in major crop failures come harvest time towards the end of August. Sweet corn and tomatoes, two of the major money making crops for small farmers in northeast Pennsylvania, appeared to suffer some of the worst damage. According to figures from some of the individual farmers themselves and also the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Extension Service, losses nearing 1.5 million dollars were tallied. Financial assistance was granted in many cases. Precipitation figures at the Wikes-Barre Scranton airport and other cooperative sites across the region averaged less than 30% of normal for the period from June 1st to the end of August. At long last, a couple of more significant rainfall events began to ease the situation at the very end of August.

Drought, Lackawanna

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lackawanna forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.437, -75.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Luzerne

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Luzerne forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.177, -75.989 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Pike

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.332, -75.034 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Susquehanna

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Susquehanna forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.821, -75.801 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wayne

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.649, -75.303 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wyoming

When
August 1, 12:00 AM EST to August 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Wyoming forecast zone
Crop damage
$200,000
Coordinates
41.518, -76.016 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, August 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: 5617805, 5617806, 5617807, 5617808, 5617809, 5617810, 5617811.