Heat — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2012-07-26 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably hot and one of the most humid air masses of the summer combined to produce afternoon hourly heat indices of between 100F to 105F. High temperatures themselves were in the lower to mid 90s. There was one heat related death within Philadelphia. High temperatures included 95 degrees in Reading (Berks County), 94 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport, 92 degrees in Pottstown (Montgomery County) and 91 degrees in Doylestown (Bucks County) and the Lehigh Valley International Airport.

This latest hot spell solidified July 2012 as one of the hottest Julys on record in Pennsylvania. It was the 5th hottest July on record (dating back through 1895) with a statewide average temperature of 74.5 degrees. At the Philadelphia International Airport, the July monthly mean temperature of 81.8 degrees was the 3rd warmest on record and the 21 days in which the maximum temperature reached 90 degrees or higher tied 2011 and four other Julys for the greatest ever. The unseasonably hot July helped pave the way for the 5th warmest meteorological summer on record in Philadelphia with an average temperature of 78.0 degrees. It was also the seventh warmest July on record at the Lehigh Valley International Airport with an average temperature of 77.5 degrees, the fourth warmest July on record in Mount Pocono (Monroe County) with an average temperature of 71.5 degrees and the third warmest July on record in Reading (Berks County) with an average temperature of 79.5 degrees.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 403713. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.