Pennsylvania, 1999

Drought in Pennsylvania, July 31, 1999

July 31, 1999 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

July 1999 continued the trend of extremely warm and dry weather across Eastern Pennsylvania. 0 degrees).

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 1999 continued the trend of extremely warm and dry weather across Eastern Pennsylvania. July 1999 was the third warmest July on record at both the Lehigh Valley International Airport (mean temperature of 78.0 degrees) and Reading (mean temperature of 79.0 degrees). July 1999 was also the fifth warmest July on record at the Philadelphia International Airport with a monthly mean temperature of 81.1 degrees. The warmth was not confined to urban areas. For the state of Pennsylvania as a whole, July 1999 was the 11th warmest July on record dating back to 1895. July 1999 was also extremely dry. Rainfall totals on a county weighted average for the month ranged from 0.3 inches in Lehigh County to 2.0 inches in Delaware County. Less than an inch of rain fell across the Lehigh Valley, Berks County and the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs. The July monthly normal rainfall is around 4.5 inches. It was the driest July on record at both Reading (0.31 inches) and the Lehigh Valley International Airport (0.33 inches). It was also the 8th driest July on record at the Philadelphia International Airport as only 1.22 inches fell.

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 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 1999

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: 5715242, 5715243, 5715244, 5715245, 5715246, 5715247, 5715248, 5715249, 5715250, 5715251.