Excessive Heat — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2011-06-08 to 2011-06-09 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

Unseasonably hot weather occurred on June 8th and 9th across Eastern Pennsylvania. Except for the higher terrain in the Poconos, high temperatures reached the mid to upper 90s both days with afternoon heat indices of between 100F and 105F. The 9th was the hottest day for most places. There was one heat related death within Philadelphia and a few other occurrences of heat exhaustion throughout the area. A cold front that triggered strong to severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening of the 9th moved through Pennsylvania during the early morning of the 10th and lowered both temperature and humidity levels.

An 83-year old man became the first heat related death of the summer in Philadelphia. In the Lehigh Valley, two children at Dorney Park suffered heat exhaustion while a a roofer in the Allentown area suffered heat stroke. The city of Philadelphia activated its heat program. A daytime outreach program was initiated to the elderly and a hot line was opened with counselors and nurses answered questions. Schools in Philadelphia dismissed children early on both the 8th and 9th. Many other schools and school districts that did not have air conditioning followed suit on both days as far north as the Poconos. Many districts also canceled after school classes and activities. Some school districts enacted dress down rules and moved field day and graduation ceremonies indoors. In Philadelphia, a section of the Schuylkill Expressway near Grays Ferry Avenue buckled.

Highest temperatures included 99 degrees in Philadelphia and Lehighton (Carbon County), 98 degrees in Pottstown (Montgomery County) and Reading (Berks County), 96 degrees in Allentown (Lehigh County), 95 degrees in Doylestown and Quakertown (Bucks County), 94 degrees in Stroudsburg (Monroe County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 322881. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.