Pennsylvania, 2002

Wildfire in Pennsylvania, July 6 to 7, 2002

July 6 to 7, 2002 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A northerly flow of air through the lower half of the atmosphere pushed smoke from forest fires in northern Quebec across Eastern Pennsylvania. The smoke reduced visibilities and could be smelled from the afternoon of the 6th into the afternoon of the 7th.

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

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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.

A northerly flow of air through the lower half of the atmosphere pushed smoke from forest fires in northern Quebec across Eastern Pennsylvania. The smoke reduced visibilities and could be smelled from the afternoon of the 6th into the afternoon of the 7th. Winds started to shift from north on the 7th to the west on the 8th and pushed the smoke farther to the east. In all about 50 fires were burning near James Bay about 500 miles north of Montreal in Quebec Province. The fires consumed about 150,000 acres and caused the evacuation of the Native American village of Nemaska.

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 6, 2:45 AM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 2:45 AM EST, 9 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
345 AM EDT SAT JUL 6 2002

NOT THAT MANY CHGS TO EXISTING FCST. ADDED A FEW MORE CLDS TO THE
NERN ZONES TDA AND THIS EVE. SOME MORE CLDS ARRIVING SUN NGT INTO
MON ACRS THE N...OTRW DRY TIL TUE.

KEEPING CHC TSTMS TUE INTO TUE NGT...WITH CHC WED MRNG SHWRS EXTRM S
AS FNT MAY BE SLOW TO EXIT.

GUIDANCE TEMPS ARE ALL CLOSE AND SEEM RSNBL. MON AND TUE LOOK WARM
TO HOT - AND HUMID...THOUGH SHOULDNT BE AS BAD AS RECENT HEAT EVENT.

ZONES WIBIS ABT 415 AM.

.PHI...NONE.

KRAUS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Berks

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 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)

Wildfire, Bucks

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Carbon

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 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)

Wildfire, Chester

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Delaware

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 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)

Wildfire, Lehigh

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 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)

Wildfire, Monroe

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 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)

Wildfire, Montgomery

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Northampton

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 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)

Wildfire, Philadelphia

When
July 6, 12:00 PM EST to July 7, 6:00 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

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

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: 5308539, 5308540, 5308541, 5308542, 5308543, 5308544, 5308545, 5308546, 5308547, 5308548.