Pennsylvania, 1998

Drought in Pennsylvania, July 31, 1998

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

July 1998 started a run of drier than normal weather across Southeastern Pennsylvania. 8 inches and averaged about half of 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.

July 1998 started a run of drier than normal weather across Southeastern Pennsylvania. On a county weighted average, rainfall totals for the month of July were between 1.7 and 2.8 inches and averaged about half of normal. The driest conditions occurred across Bucks and Lehigh Counties. In Lehigh County, only 40 percent of the normal July rainfall fell. Monthly precipitation totals included 1.79 at the Philadelphia International Airport and 1.18 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport. The lack of rain started to stress the corn and hay crops across Southeast Pennsylvania.

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
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Carbon

When
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Delaware

When
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Drought, Northampton

When
July 31, 11:59 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
July 31, 11:59 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, July 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: 5664814, 5664815, 5664816, 5664817, 5664818, 5664819, 5664820, 5664821, 5664822, 5664823.