Heat, Montgomery
- When
- July 27, 9:00 AM EST to July 28, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
Heat in Pennsylvania, July 27 to 28, 1997
A brief two day hot spell claimed the lives of 5 more persons in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Four persons died within Philadelphia.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 5
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 brief two day hot spell claimed the lives of 5 more persons in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Four persons died within Philadelphia. The 5th death occurred in Pottstown in Montgomery County where a 61-year-old woman was found dead in a home with all the windows closed. Similar circumstances occurred with the deaths within Philadelphia. A 67-year-old man was found dead in the 90 degree bedroom of his house. There was no fans, air conditioning or electricity on. The highest temperatures during this hot spell included 94 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport, 93 in Green Lane and Valley Forge.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Philadelphia
- When
- July 27, 9:00 AM EST to July 28, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia forecast zone
- Deaths
- 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Montgomery | 1997-07-28 | 61 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 1997-07-28 | 34 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 1997-07-31 | 89 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 1997-07-31 | 67 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 1997-07-28 | 67 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
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
- Hail in Colorado, July 27, 1997
- Flash Flood and Hail in West Virginia, July 27, 1997
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 27, 1997
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 27, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 27, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Ohio, July 27, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, July 27, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 27, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 27, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 27, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 27, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 27, 1997
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5614677, 5614678.