Thunderstorms associated with a cool front on Saturday night broke the extreme heat that had dominated Berks County weather for several days.
The totals were lower north of Reading and higher to the south. Reading Regional Airport recorded a meager 0.05 inch. To the south, Hopewell Furnace received about two-thirds of an inch and Boyertown about nine-tenths, according to posted measurements from trained spotters.
A heat advisory was issued Sunday until 8 p.m., replacing the extreme heat warning that had been in place since the start of the month. There was a flash flood watch in place until 8 p.m. Sunday as well, as potentially drought-busting rainfall was in the forecast for later Sunday and Monday.
A heat wave that started with a 90-degree day on June 29 might continue on Sunday, but the forecast shows that even if so, that will likely be the end of the streak of 90-degree, and higher, days. The official high temperature is to be available Monday morning.
During the hot period, Berks was moved into a drought warning by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. That status calls for a voluntary 10% to 15% reduction in residential and business water use.
Through Saturday, the annual precipitation total was 14.89 inches at the airport, or 6.45 inches below normal. In other words, the precipitation for 2026 is roughly two-thirds of normal.
The county as a whole is faring a little better at 16.4 inches, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, a division of the weather service. While the airport has automated equipment, the center takes more stations into account and the total is quality controlled by a hydrologist.
The AccuWeather forecast for Berks shows that Monday should be generally overcast with a high in the upper 70s amid high humidity and more opportunities for showers and storms, with the potential for an inch or so of rain.
Tuesday is likely to be a carbon copy in terms of cloud cover and humidity with less rain likely. The forecast shows partly cloudy skies and a high in the mid-80s on Wednesday.
Here is the tale of the tape for the extreme heat endured by Berks residents and others in the mid-Atlantic:
The highs for the first four days of July at Reading Regional Airport were 99, 103, 102 and 99 degrees, respectively. The high temperature date records for those were 101 degrees in 1901, 102 in 1966, 103 in 1966 and 100 in 1966.
One record was set, then, on the 2nd when the mercury reached 103, eclipsing a 60-year-old mark by a degree.
In July, 18 of the 31 days have records of at least 100 degrees. Four of those days eclipsed previous marks of at least 100 degrees, including the most recent one on Thursday.
The lows for the period were 73, 76, 77 and 73, respectively. The date records for warmest low temperatures for the same period are 76 in 1968, 79 in 1901, 76 in 2018 and 78 in 1966.
One record was set, then, on the 3rd, when the low was 77 degrees, eclipsing an eight-year-old mark by a degree. That day in 2018 had itself improved the record by 1 degree from lows in 1901 and 2002.
All of the days in July contain low temperature date records in the low to upper 70s, except one. That is an 80-degree low on July 22, 2011. That day went on to set the all-time-high temperature in the database at 106 degrees, bettering 105 from Aug. 7, 1918.
June weather
The hot spell started with the close of June, but that month overall produced little weather fanfare.
The average monthly temperature was 1 degree above normal, with no heavy rainfall and a monthly total at the airport that was well below normal, which explains how Berks got into the drought warning.
“June weather in Berks County was not very exciting,” said retired meteorologist Jeffrey R. Stoudt of Lincoln Park, founder of the Berks Area Rainfall Networks. “The coolest and warmest of 50 and 93, respectively, were typical. Seven days heated to at least 90, which is more than the long-term average of four. The aspect that might have tipped the balance slightly to the warm side was the lack of late spring coolness. Usually, a couple of days with high temperatures below 70 occur in June.
“No date record temperatures of any kind were threatened.”
The rainfall total of 1.85 inches was much below the normal of 4.77 but well above the 10 driest. Tenth place is 1.23 inches from 1949.
“Thunderstorms usually contribute the majority of June rainfall,” Stoudt added. “No place got really drenching rains from this or any other thunderstorm during this June. As a result, even the ‘wettest’ locations in Berks County had deficient June rainfall.
June weather in Berks
• Temperature: 72.6 degrees
• Normal: 71.6 degrees
• Precipitation: 1.85 inches
• Normal: 4.77 inches
More data:
• 90-degree days: 7 (annual total: 11)
Source: National Weather Service
Rainfall amounts from the Berks Area Rainfall Networks in inches:
• Morgantown, 3.67
• New Morgan, 3.17
• Quaker Hill, 3.15
• Reading E, 2.89
• Shartlesville, 2.85
• Bechtelsville NW, 2.71
• Boyertown, 2.68
• Elverson NE, 2.64
• Cacoosing, 2.54
• Wernersville, 2.53
• Mohrsville, 2.51
• Lincoln Park, 2.49
• Bechtelsville, 2.35
• Greenfields, 2.35
• West Reading, 2.34
• Topton, 2.33
• Cornwall Terrace, 2.32
• Strausstown, 2.29
• Hamburg, 2.27
• Mohnton, 2.26
• Oley, 2.19
• Birdsboro, 2.18
• Lobachsville, 2.17
• Mohrsville SW, 2.17
• Auburn, 2.12
• Oley Furnace, 1.99
• Shillington, 1.99
• Dryville, 1.83
• Knauers, 1.83
• Boyers Junction, 1.82
• Henningsville, 1.82
• Womelsdorf, 1.69
• Muhlenberg Park, 1.64
• Bernville, 1.59
• Frystown, 1.56.