This is one of the hottest weeks of the year on average, but are we breaking any records this 4th of July weekend?

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — This is one of the hottest weeks of the year on average, and this week we are certainly feeling that. The average high for the Scranton area right now is 84 degrees, and the average low is 62, so our mornings this week have been very mild, too.

The hottest high temperature recorded for the 4th of July in the Scranton area is 99 degrees, that happened in 1911. 



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The coolest Independence Day on record was in 1978, when it was only 61 degrees for an afternoon high. The low that year was 50 degrees, which is also one of the chilliest low temperatures recorded for the holiday. In 1986, the morning low for the 4th of July was 46 degrees. That is the coldest temperature ever recorded for the 4th here in the Scranton area. 

We have hit 90 degrees on the 4th of July 15 times since record keeping began more than 100 years ago, most recently in 2020 and in 2019.

Last year was the coolest Independence Day we’ve seen in the past ten years. The high was 78, but it was a very sunny, very nice day.

In the years before that, we have been in the 80s or 90s for highs, so right at or above average each year.

But in 2015, it was 68 degrees, and that was one of the coolest 4ths we’ve ever seen; it was only ever cooler 6 times. That was also one of the rainiest 4ths we’ve ever had, too. 0.83 inches of rain fell that year, which ranks it at no. 5. 

At no. 1 is 1925, 101 years ago. 1.88″ of rain fell in the Scranton area on July 4, 1925. 

In 2023, it wasn’t a stormy 4th, but it was a very active holiday weekend. On Sunday, July 2, 2023, severe thunderstorms developed across much of Northeastern and Central PA, and meteorologists with the National Weather Service later confirmed multiple tornadoes touched down, including at least three in Union County and one in Lackawanna County in Dickson City.

Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are in the forecast every day this holiday weekend, so stay weather aware as you enjoy your holiday outside.