Pennsylvania, 1997

Cold in Pennsylvania, May 31, 1997

May 31, 1997 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

May 1997 was an unseasonably cool month. For most locations, it was the coolest May since 1967 with monthly departures that averaged around 4 degrees below normal.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

May 1997 was an unseasonably cool month. For most locations, it was the coolest May since 1967 with monthly departures that averaged around 4 degrees below normal. At the Philadelphia International Airport, the monthly mean temperature 59.5 degrees was 3.4 degrees below normal and was tied for the 8th coolest May on record. At the Lehigh Valley International Airport, the mean temperature of 55.7 degrees was 4.6 degrees below normal and the 2nd coolest May on record.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Philadelphia

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Berks

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Bucks

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Carbon

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Chester

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Delaware

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Lehigh

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Monroe

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Montgomery

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone

Cold/Wind Chill, Northampton

When
May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, May 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: 5609149, 5609194, 5609195, 5609196, 5609197, 5609198, 5609199, 5609200, 5609201, 5609202.