Heat, Berks
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Berks forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Pennsylvania, February 19 to 22, 1997
A persistent west to southwest flow at all levels of the atmosphere brought unseasonably warm weather into the Northeast from the afternoon of the 19th through the 22nd. This warm spell ended rather abruptly with a strong cold frontal passage on the 22nd.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 10
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 at all levels of the atmosphere brought unseasonably warm weather into the Northeast from the afternoon of the 19th through the 22nd. This warm spell ended rather abruptly with a strong cold frontal passage on the 22nd. High temperatures reached into the 50s over the higher terrain in the Poconos and the 60s elsewhere. A new record high temperature for the 19th of 63 degrees was set at the Lehigh Valley International Airport. The record high temperature of 68 degrees was tied on the 22nd at the Philadelphia International Airport. The warmest day for most places was either the 19th or the 22nd. The warmest temperatures reached during this spell included 70 degrees on the 21st at the Philadelphia International Airport and (on the 22nd) at Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 69 degrees on the 19th in Levittown and on the 22nd in New Hope (Bucks County), 68 degrees on the 19th in Valley Forge (Montgomery County), 67 degrees on the 19th in Reading and on the 22nd at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 65 degrees on the 22nd in East Stroudsburg, 57 degrees on the 22nd in Jundale (Carbon County), 56 degrees in Tobyhanna (Monroe County) on the 22nd.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
10 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Bucks
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
Heat, Carbon
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Carbon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Chester
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chester forecast zone
Heat, Delaware
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Lehigh
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Lehigh forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Monroe
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Montgomery
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
Heat, Northampton
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Northampton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Philadelphia
- When
- February 19, 11:00 AM EST to February 22, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.008, -75.134 (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 Iowa, February 19, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Texas, February 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, February 19, 1997
- Flooding in Nebraska, February 19 to 22, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, February 19 to 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Iowa, February 19 to 20, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Texas, February 19 to 21, 1997
- Winter Storm in Utah, February 19 to 20, 1997
- Heat in New Jersey, February 19 to 22, 1997
- Heat in Maryland, February 19 to 22, 1997
- Heat in Delaware, February 19 to 22, 1997
- High Wind in Massachusetts, February 19 to 20, 1997
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 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: 5595111, 5595112, 5595113, 5595114, 5595115, 5595116, 5595117, 5595118, 5595119, 5595120.