While Day 9 of the heat wave reached 96 degrees, because of the rather low humidity, the heat index only reached 96. Keep that in mind when comparing today to Saturday when the temperature will reach around 103 degrees with the heat index between 105 and 110. That means Saturday will FEEL at least 10 degrees hotter than today. And today was mighty hot!
The records for our area Saturday are:
Location | Temperature | Year |
Philadelphia | 103 | 2010 |
Atlantic City (airport) | 98 | 2010 |
Wilmington | 103 | 2010 |
Trenton | 103 | 2010 |
Reading | 101 | 2010 |
Mt. Pocono | 95 | 1908 |
Georgetown, DE | 97 | 2010 |
Allentown | 99 | 2010 |
The all-time July record in Philadelphia is 104 while the all-time hottest day in Philadelphia is 106 in August, 1918.
The extreme heat is part of the record-breaking heat that has plagued the Midwest and South for weeks. Occasionally a bulge of the dangerous heat will surge eastward. Since we’re on the edge of this air mass however, it won’t stay extreme for long. Cooler air will move down from New England starting Monday and no more extreme heat is coming…for a while. After all, we’ve barely started July.