Pennsylvania, 1998

Heat in Pennsylvania, June 25 to 26, 1998

June 25 to 26, 1998 · NWS PHI · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Excessive heat for two days brought some of the highest temperatures of the summer and caused three heat related deaths in Southeast Pennsylvania. The hot weather ended abruptly with severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon of the 26th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
3
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

Excessive heat for two days brought some of the highest temperatures of the summer and caused three heat related deaths in Southeast Pennsylvania. The hot weather ended abruptly with severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon of the 26th. In Philadelphia, two women died from the heat (a 65-year-old and an 80-year-old). In Montgomery County, a 75-year-old man was found dead in the room of a Pennsburg motel. There was no air conditioning in the room and the room temperature at the time of discovery was 110 degrees. The highest temperatures mainly occurred on the 26th and included 97 degrees in Crum Creek (Delaware County), 95 degrees in Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County) and at the Philadelphia International Airport (The highest temperature of the year.), 94 degrees in Valley Forge (Montgomery County), 93 degrees at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport and 92 degrees in Perkasie (Bucks County).

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Bucks

When
June 25, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Chester

When
June 25, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Delaware

When
June 25, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 5:00 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)

Heat, Montgomery

When
June 25, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Philadelphia

When
June 25, 9:00 AM EST to June 26, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Deaths
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Heat, Montgomery1998-06-2675MalePermanent HomeDirect
Heat, Philadelphia1998-06-2565FemalePermanent HomeDirect
Heat, Philadelphia1998-06-2680FemaleOtherDirect

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, June 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5665714, 5665819, 5665820, 5665821, 5665822.