Heat in Pennsylvania, August 6 to 10, 2001

A ridge of high pressure both surface and aloft that was broiling the central part of the country moved east and covered Eastern Pennsylvania during the work week of August 6th. This brought a very oppressive hot spell to the region and peaked on the 9th. It was the first time since July 9th and 10th of 1993 that the high temperature reached 100 degrees or higher at the Philadelphia International Airport. There were 25 heat related deaths in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area: 19 in Philadelphia, 2 in Montgomery County, 1 in Chester County and 3 elsewhere. In most instances, the circumstances were the same. The people already had underlying health problems. They were found indoors with windows closed and air-conditioning units (if available) not turned on. The living room temperature of one of the deceased in Philadelphia was 130 degrees. Responses for assistance for the elderly in Philadelphia increased from 33 on Monday the 6th to 126 on Thursday the 9th. Dozens of others suffered heat exhaustion. At the Philadelphia Phillies afternoon baseball game on the 9th, the artificial turf temperature rose to 149 degrees by games' end. Twenty-four fans were treated for heat exhaustion. The hot weather and lack of wind produced unhealthy ozone levels. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission issued a "code red" warning for ground level ozone concentration. The hot weather put a strain on both electrical and water usage with several utilities setting records. The PJM Interconnection (An independent organization that coordinates electric delivery for 22 million people in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) set a usage record of 54,176 megawatts on the 9th. It was also forced to reduce voltage by 5 percent that day between 310 p.m. and 615 p.m. EDT to protect power reserves. PECO Energy had its 2nd highest usage on record on the 9th (7,954 megawatts). Both GPU Energy (10,468 megawatts) and PPL (6,661 megawatts) established new usage records on the 9th. Scattered outages occurred because of the peak demand. On the night of the 9th, 2,500 customers in Upper Darby (Delaware County) were without power for twelve hours. Water usage at the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company shattered records for four consecutive days and was about 17% above the July average. The National Utility called on its Lehigh and Monroe County customers to conserve water.On the 8th and 9th, school children were dismissed early from Philadelphia Public Schools. University of Pennsylvania also dismissed non-essential personnel early. Interstate 95 buckled near Philadelphia International Airport. In and around Philadelphia, SEPTA Regional Rail Lines operated with delays due to downed wires on the 9th. The wires sagged because of the heat and a couple of trains ripped them from their moorings. Several trains and buses overheated. Chester County recommended restrain from outside burning until temperatures cooled.Highest temperatures included 104 degrees in Willow Grove (Montgomery County), 103 degrees in Northeast Philadelphia, 101 degrees in Pottstown (Montgomery County) and at the Philadelphia International Airport, 99 degrees in Doylestown (Bucks County), 98 degrees at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and East Stroudsburg (Monroe County) and 91 degrees in Mount Pocono (Monroe County). The 101 degree high temperature at the Philadelphia International Airport was the hottest day at the airport since July 15, 1995 when it reached 103 degrees. A cold front moved into the region the evening of the 10th and stalled throughout the weekend (the 11th and 12th). While it did not remove the humid air in place, the clouds and precipitation prevented temperatures from reaching into the 90s after the 10th.