Heat in Pennsylvania, July 20 to 23, 1998

A heat wave affected Southeast Pennsylvania from July 20th through the 23rd. Eleven persons died (Eight in Philadelphia and three in Montgomery County.) from the heat. They were usually discovered in homes with closed windows and inadequate ventilation. A 21-month-old Philadelphia baby was inadvertently left in a car overnight and died the next day. When the child was discovered in the car that next day, her body temperature had risen to 109 degrees. There were at least around 75 dispatches for heat related emergencies within the city of Philadelphia. Two firefighters also suffered heat exhaustion after fighting a blaze the afternoon of the 20th. The city of Allentown also issued a hot weather advisory for the 21st and 22nd. While no new energy usage records were set, PECO Energy reported energy usage was 20 percent above normal for July. The hottest days of the heat wave were the 21st and 22nd. Cloudiness on the 22nd prevented temperatures from rising even higher as the center of the hot air mass was over the Middle Atlantic States. A weak trough brought in slightly cooler air on the 23rd. A stronger cold front moved through the region late in the day on the 23rd and brought in a much drier and cooler air mass through the upcoming weekend (July 25th and 26th). The highest temperatures included 95 degrees at the Franklin Institute within Philadelphia, 94 degrees in Crum Creek (Delaware County) and at the Philadelphia International Airport and 93 degrees in Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County) and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport.