Excessive Heat — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2010-07-23 to 2010-07-25 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

The last heat wave in July culminated with some of the highest heat indices of the summer on the 24th and numerous high temperatures in the mid to upper 90s in Berks County and southeastern Pennsylvania. The combination of the heat and humidity produced heat index values of around 105 degrees on the 24th. The excessive heat caused four more heat related deaths in southeastern Pennsylvania, three in Philadelphia and one in Bucks County. In Bucks County, a 20-year-old severely autistic man died on the 24th after he was left in a parked van outside of a Langhorne care center. In Philadelphia, the heat claimed the life of a 66-year-old woman, a 90-year-old woman (found in an apartment with closed windows and a fan on) and a 56-year-old man. Delaware County opened cooling centers through the weekend of the 24th and 25th.

The heat wave ended with strong to severe thunderstorms that preceded a strong cold frontal passage during the afternoon of the 25th. Highest temperatures included 97 degrees in Philadelphia, 96 degrees in Reading (Berks County), 95 degrees in Pottstown (Montgomery County), 94 degrees in London Grove (Chester County) and 93 degrees in Doylestown (Bucks County). The month of July was one of the hottest Julys on record in Eastern Pennsylvania. It was the 2nd hottest July on record in Philadelphia (monthly mean temperature of 81.7 degrees) and the 6th hottest July on record in Reading (monthly mean temperature of 78.8 degrees). It also tied July 1999 and 1995 for the most days with temperatures of 90 degrees or higher (20 days). Even the Poconos did not escape the heat as it was the third warmest July on record (71.8 degrees) in Mount Pocono (Monroe County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 253457. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.