Pennsylvania, 1998

Drought in Pennsylvania, December 31, 1998

December 31, 1998 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

December 1998 was another unseasonably dry month. 9).

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.

December 1998 was another unseasonably dry month. On a county weighted average, every county in Eastern Pennsylvania had less than one inch of precipitation (.6 to .9). This was nearly 3 inches below normal and only 20 percent of the normal monthly December precipitation. The 0.62 inches of precipitation that fell in December at the Lehigh Valley International Airport was the second driest December on record. The 0.82 inches of monthly precipitation at the Philadelphia International Airport was the third driest December on record. December 1998 was also a much warmer than normal month and averaged around 6 degrees above normal. At the Lehigh Valley International Airport, the monthly mean temperature of 37.5 degrees was 5.7 degrees above normal and was the 5th warmest December on record. At the Philadelphia International Airport, the monthly mean temperature of 42.0 degrees was 6.2 degrees above normal and also was the 5th warmest December 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 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Berks

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Bucks

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Carbon

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Chester

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Delaware

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lehigh

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Monroe

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Montgomery

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Northampton

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Philadelphia

When
December 31, 11:58 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, December 1998

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: 5673630, 5673631, 5673632, 5673633, 5673634, 5673635, 5673636, 5673637, 5673742, 5673743.