Cold/Wind Chill, Berks
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Berks forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 20, 1997
The coldest air mass of the winter season moved into Eastern Pennsylvania on Friday the 17th. The high pressure system came straight from the arctic tundra and moved southeast reaching the Middle and South Atlantic States on the 19th and 20th.
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
- 3
- 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.
The coldest air mass of the winter season moved into Eastern Pennsylvania on Friday the 17th. The high pressure system came straight from the arctic tundra and moved southeast reaching the Middle and South Atlantic States on the 19th and 20th. Strong gusty northwest winds brought wind chill factors well below zero on the 17th and 18th. Three men within Philadelphia died of hypothermia on the 17th and 18th. A 75-year-old man was found dead within his unheated house the night of the 17th. A 48-year-old man was found dead behind a church on the afternoon of the 18th. A third man was found dead in his parked car in a gas station in West Philadelphia.The coldest morning was the 19th. For most places this was the coldest day of the winter season. Low temperatures that morning included -7F in East Stroudsburg (Monroe County), -6F in Long Pond (Monroe County), 0F in Sellersville (Bucks County), 1F at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 2F in Reading, 3F in Valley Forge (Montgomery County) and 8F at the PhiladeIphia International Airport. No new record lows were set.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
10 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Bucks
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
Cold/Wind Chill, Carbon
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Carbon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Chester
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Chester forecast zone
Cold/Wind Chill, Delaware
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Lehigh
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Lehigh forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Monroe
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
Cold/Wind Chill, Northampton
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Northampton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Philadelphia
- When
- January 17, 1:00 AM EST to January 20, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia forecast zone
- Deaths
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Philadelphia | 1997-01-17 | 75 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Philadelphia | 1997-01-18 | 48 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Cold/Wind Chill, Philadelphia | 1997-01-18 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Michigan, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 17, 1997
- Ice Storm in Oregon, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in New Jersey, January 17 to 20, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17 to 18, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Vermont, January 17, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17, 1997
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 1997
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 17 to 18, 1997
- Cold in Maryland, January 17 to 20, 1997
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5596475, 5596476, 5596477, 5596478, 5596479, 5596480, 5596481, 5596482, 5596483, 5596484.