Heat, Augusta
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Augusta forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Virginia, August 16 to 17, 1997
West winds circulating around a "Bermuda" high pressure system allowed temperatures to soar over the weekend of the 16th and 17th. Maximum temperatures surpassed the century mark across most of northern Virginia (except in the higher elevations) both days.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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
- 0
- Injuries
- 50
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 21
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 LWX wrote it up.
West winds circulating around a "Bermuda" high pressure system allowed temperatures to soar over the weekend of the 16th and 17th. Maximum temperatures surpassed the century mark across most of northern Virginia (except in the higher elevations) both days. Heat index values ranged from 105 to 110 each day, but aside from a few heat exhaustion cases, it appeared that at-risk residents remained in air conditioned locations. No heat-related deaths were reported by Virginia medical authorities.A record high was achieved at Washington/Dulles Airport (VAZ042) on the 16th with a new maximum of 100 degrees. That temperature was matched on the 17th, before strong to severe thunderstorms moved through.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
21 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Rockingham
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Shenandoah
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Shenandoah forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Frederick
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Page
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Page forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Warren
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Clarke
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clarke forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Albemarle
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Albemarle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Greene
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Madison
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Rappahannock
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rappahannock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Fauquier
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fauquier forecast zone
Heat, Loudoun
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
- Injuries
- 8 direct, 0 indirect
Heat, Orange
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Culpeper
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Culpeper forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Prince William
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Prince William forecast zone
- Injuries
- 8 direct, 0 indirect
Heat, Fairfax
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax forecast zone
- Injuries
- 16 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Arlington
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Arlington forecast zone
- Injuries
- 18 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Stafford
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stafford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Spotsylvania
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spotsylvania forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, King George
- When
- August 16, 11:00 AM EST to August 17, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- King George forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.274, -77.156 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Heat in Maryland, August 16 to 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, August 16, 1997
- Heat in District of Columbia, August 16 to 17, 1997
- Heat in Pennsylvania, August 16 to 17, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, August 16, 1997
- Damaging Winds in New York, August 16, 1997
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, August 16, 1997
- Tornado in Pennsylvania, August 16, 1997
- Damaging Wind in New Jersey, August 16, 1997
- Damaging Wind in New Jersey, August 16, 1997
- Damaging Wind in New Jersey, August 16, 1997
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, August 16 to 22, 1997
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, August 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: 5615494, 5615495, 5615496, 5615497, 5615498, 5615499, 5615500, 5615501, 5615502, 5615503, 5615504, 5615505, 5615506, 5615507, 5615508, 5615509, 5615510, 5615511, 5615512, 5615513, 5615514.