Heat in Pennsylvania, June 21 to 26, 1997

Name: Heat in Pennsylvania, June 21 to 26, 1997
Start: 1997-06-21T09:00
End: 1997-06-26T18:00
Location: Pennsylvania

June 21 to 26, 1997 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The first heat wave of 1997 brought the hottest weather in two years to the Philadelphia area. The highest temperatures reached near 100 degrees on the 25th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 4
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.

The first heat wave of 1997 brought the hottest weather in two years to the Philadelphia area. The highest temperatures reached near 100 degrees on the 25th. Four persons died of hyperthermia within the city. Three died on the 26th, the last day of the heat wave. All the deaths occurred within their homes. One had no air conditioning or fans with the windows closed. The other three had no air conditioning, the fans on, but the windows closed. The heat wave started on the 21st. A weak cold front briefly brought drier air into the region on the 23rd. But that was short-lived as both heat and humidity levels became oppressive again on the 24th. The highest temperatures included 99 degrees at the Franklin Institute and 96 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport and 94 degrees at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The 96 degree high at the Philadelphia International Airport was the hottest day at the airport since August 18, 1995 when the high was 97 degrees.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Delaware

When: June 21, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Philadelphia

When: June 21, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 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, Philadelphia	1997-06-28	54	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Philadelphia	1997-06-26	87	Female	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Philadelphia	1997-06-26	89	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Heat, Philadelphia	1997-06-26	94	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

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, June 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: 5611961, 5611962.