Heat, Berks
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 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)
Heat in Pennsylvania, July 1 to 4, 2002
July started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across Eastern Pennsylvania. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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 started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across Eastern Pennsylvania. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th. Highest temperatures were well into the 90s to around 100 degrees and heat indices reached around 105 degrees on the 3rd and 4th. The hot spell was the deadliest of the summer season for the city of Philadelphia as 15 persons perished from heat related causes. Most of the victims were elderly people with underlying illnesses. Most were found in apartments with windows either shut or barely open and no fans or air conditioners. A 44-year-old man was found outdoors and later died in a city hospital. In Bucks County, a 42-year-old man died from the heat while he was cutting the grass. Highest temperatures included 102 degrees at the Franklin Institute within Philadelphia, 101 degrees in Green Lane (Montgomery County), 99 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport, the Willow Grove NAS (Montgomery County) and in West Chester (Chester County), 98 degrees in Neshaminy Falls and Perkasie (Bucks County), 97 degrees in Hamburg (Berks County), 96 degrees in Bath (Northampton County), 95 degrees in Reading (Berks County) and the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 94 degrees in East Stroudsburg (Monroe County).
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 1, 1:10 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 1, 1:10 AM EST, 7 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION - CORRECTION FOR WATCH WARNING BELOW
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
210 AM EDT MON JUL 1 2002
AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE METRO AREAS IN AND
AROUND PHL. VALID TIMES TUE AND WED.
HOT AIR IS BEING PUSHED NE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT IN CANADA. AS THIS
COLD FRONG GRADUALLY MOVES SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH MIDWEEK...THE HOT
AIR PRECEDING IT ALSO MOVES SOUTHEAST UNTIL THE FRONT CROSSES SLOWLY
FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE WED NIGHT AND THU.
TODAY...TEMPS DONT GET TOO HOT. ALTHOUGH THE HUMIDITY INCREASES
SOME...IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE HEAT INDEX TO PEAK MUCH ABOVE
THE LOW 90S. THERE IS ENUF DRY AIR ALFT...THAT SHOULD MIX DOWN AS
TEMPS RISE KEEPING DEWPTS IN THE 60S. THE SHORE ZOENS SHOULD BE
NICER WITH A COOL SEABREEZE.
TUE SHOULD BE HOT WITH THE HEAT INDEX 100 TO 105 AS TEMPS REACH THE
MID 90S AND DEWPTS THE LOW 70S. THE FLOW IS MORE OFFSHORE ALLOWING
THE COAST TO ALSO GET HOT. HOWEVER...THE OFFSHORE FLOW IS NOT ENOUGH
TO KEEP THE SEABREEZE FROM DEVELOP...ALBEIT AFTER TEMPS REACH THE
LOW 90S.
WITH RIDGING SFC AND ALFT...TEMPS SHOULD SOAR WED AFTER WARM
NIGHTTIME MINS IN THE 70S. 850 SUPPORTS TEMPS WELL INTO THE 90S ON
WED...WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE THE HOTTEST DAY AND THE HEAT INDEX MAY
EXCEED 105. THE COAST SHOULD ALSO GET HOT WITH OFFSHORE FLOW...ANY
SEABREEZES THAT DVLP SHOULD NOT MOVE INLAND AND REMAIN RESTRICTED TO
THE BEACHES.
PER TSTM POTENTIAL. CONSIDERING THE RIDGING SFC AND ALFT...TSTMS
ACTIVITY IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE ORGANIZED OR VERY WIDESPREAD UNTIL
THE FRONT GETS CLOSER TO THE REGION. THEREFORE...I WILL ONLY CARRY A
30 PCT POP FOR LATE THIS AFTN NORTH DUE TO A WEAK SHRT WAVE
THERE...THEN ALL AREAS IN THE AFTN TUE AND AGAIN WED AFTN. SINCE
DYNAMICS ARE NOT ORGANIZED...DAYTIME HEATING WILL BE NEEDED FOR
THEIR DVLPMT.
FCSTID = 9
MPO 85 70 89 70 / 30 20 30 20
ABE 88 70 95 72 / 30 20 30 20
RDG 89 70 95 72 / 30 20 30 20
PHL 90 72 97 76 / 10 10 30 20
12N 88 70 94 72 / 30 20 30 20
SMQ 90 71 96 76 / 20 10 30 20
TTN 90 71 96 76 / 20 10 30 20
MIV 87 70 97 74 / 10 0 30 20
ACY 81 70 93 73 / 10 0 30 20
ILG 89 70 97 76 / 10 10 30 20
DOV 87 70 97 74 / 10 0 30 20
GED 87 70 97 74 / 10 0 30 20
ESN 87 70 97 74 / 10 0 30 20
.PHI...
DE...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY.
MD...NONE.
NJ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR NORTHWEST BURLINGTON...
MERCER...CAMDEN AND GLOUCESTER.
PA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH TUE AND WED FOR BUCKS...MONTGOMERY...
CHESTER...DELAWARE AND PHILADELPHIA.
MARINE...NONE.
RNSThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Bucks
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heat, Chester
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chester forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heat, Delaware
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 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, Lehigh
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 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)
Heat, Montgomery
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heat, Northampton
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 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)
Heat, Philadelphia
- When
- July 1, 9:00 AM EST to July 4, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia forecast zone
- Deaths
- 15 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.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-03 | 75 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-04 | 64 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-04 | 86 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-04 | 78 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-05 | 88 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-05 | 75 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-05 | 77 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-05 | 80 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-05 | 71 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-07 | 80 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-07 | 82 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-07 | 81 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-07 | 44 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-04 | 40 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Philadelphia | 2002-07-07 | 45 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
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
- Heat in Illinois, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, July 1 to 6, 2002
- Heat in Michigan, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Heat in Maryland, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Rip Current in Florida, July 1, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, July 1, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 2, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 1, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 4, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 17, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 10, 2002
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 1 to 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 2002
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: 5308419, 5308420, 5308421, 5308422, 5308423, 5308424, 5308425, 5308426.