Heat, Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Augusta / Staunton / Waynesborro forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.109, -78.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Virginia, July 13 to 19, 1997
The combination of antecedent dry weather, a prolonged upper-level high pressure area, and the time of year produced a bona-fide heat wave across much of Virginia during the middle of the month. Unlike events of previous years, the apparent temperature was not quite as oppressive.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 22
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.
The combination of antecedent dry weather, a prolonged upper-level high pressure area, and the time of year produced a bona-fide heat wave across much of Virginia during the middle of the month. Unlike events of previous years, the apparent temperature was not quite as oppressive. Nonetheless, daytime high temperatures averaged in the middle or upper 90s for the 7 days, with the hottest readings occurring on the 17th and 18th. Intense media coverage of the heat and associated pollution parameters may have saved lives; no direct heat-related deaths were reported during the period in Virginia.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
22 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Rockingham / Harrisonburg
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham / Harrisonburg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.481, -78.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Shenandoah
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Shenandoah forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.858, -78.571 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Frederick / Winchester
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Frederick / Winchester forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.195, -78.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Page
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Page forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.620, -78.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Warren
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.909, -78.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Clarke
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Clarke forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.112, -77.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Nelson
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Nelson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.787, -78.887 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Albemarle / Charlotttesville
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Albemarle / Charlotttesville forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.029, -78.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Greene
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.298, -78.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Madison
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Madison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.414, -78.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Rappahannock
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rappahannock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.685, -78.159 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Fauquier
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fauquier forecast zone
Heat, Loudoun
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Loudoun forecast zone
Heat, Orange
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Orange forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.246, -78.013 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Culpeper
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Culpeper forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Prince William / Manassas
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Prince William / Manassas forecast zone
Heat, Fairfax
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Fairfax forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.841, -77.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Arlington / Alexandria / Falls Church forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.855, -77.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Stafford
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Stafford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.421, -77.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Spotsylvania / Fredericksburg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.244, -77.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, King George
- When
- July 13, 12:00 PM EST to July 19, 4:00 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 District of Columbia, July 13 to 19, 1997
- Heat in Maryland, July 13 to 19, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Tornado in Kansas, July 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 13, 1997
- Flood and Hail in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 13, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 13, 1997
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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: 5610987, 5610988, 5610989, 5610990, 5610991, 5610992, 5611071, 5611072, 5611073, 5611074, 5611075, 5611076, 5611077, 5611078, 5611079, 5611080, 5611081, 5611082, 5611083, 5611084, 5611085, 5611086.