Heat in Pennsylvania, June 24 to 26, 1997

Name: Heat in Pennsylvania, June 24 to 26, 1997
Start: 1997-06-24T09:00
End: 1997-06-26T18:00
Location: Pennsylvania

June 24 to 26, 1997 · NWS PHI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The first heat wave of 1997 brought the hottest weather in two years to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. It also caused one heat related death in Montgomery County.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 Metropolitan Area. It also caused one heat related death in Montgomery County. A 56-year-old Norristown woman was found dead. The highest temperatures reached well into the 90s on the 25th. The hot weather started on the 21st, but was broken by a weak cold front on the 23rd. The respite was short-lived as both heat and humidity levels became oppressive again on the 24th. The highest temperatures included 96 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport, 95 degrees in Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County) and the Willow Grove NAS (Montgomery County) and 94 degrees in King of Prussia (Montgomery County). 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.

Event by event

3 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Bucks

When: June 24, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Bucks forecast zone

Heat, Chester

When: June 24, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Chester forecast zone

Heat, Montgomery

When: June 24, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Montgomery forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect

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	1997-06-28	56	Female	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: 5611968, 5611969, 5611970.