1983 — July-Aug esp., Heat (esp. July 15-30) esp. MO/70 KY/57 IL/53 GA/35 TX/35–595-597
–595-597 Blanchard tally[1] of State and DC breakouts below.[2]
— 556 CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
— 556 LA Times. “Death toll from heat rises to nearly 300 across U.S…” 7-18-1995.[3]
—>231 AP/Langford. “Long, hot summer.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 9-18-1983, p. 14.
–>200 UPI. “Heat wave moves eastward.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-22-1983, p. 14.
—>196 UPI. “Surf pounds Pacific beaches.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-9-1983, p. 12.[4]
—>195 UPI. “Remnants of heat wave drape much of nation.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-8-1983, p.5.
–>190 UPI. “Death toll tops 190 as heat wave continues.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-3-1983, 12.
— 189 Altoona Mirror, PA. “New heat wave baking southern Plains.” 8-1-1983, 25.
— 188 Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Storms Welcome.” 7-31-1983, p. 28.
— 187 Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “Heat toll reaches 187.” 7-30-1983, 1.
— 183 Associated Press. “Heat, wind hit nation.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 8-9-1983, p. 1.[5]
— 176 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Heat wave returns as forecasters track…” 7-29-1983, 14B.
— 175 Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7.
— 160 The Register, Orange County, CA. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-1983, E1.
— 148 Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, 1.
— 123 New York Times. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
— 53 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Nationwide heat wave leaves 53 dead.” 7-23-1983, 1.
— 42 Daily Herald, Chicago. “42 die as heat wave suffocates Midwest, East.” 7-22-1983, p. 3.
— 33 Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “National toll for heat wave rises to 33…” 7-22-1983, 11.
— 24 The Register, Orange County CA. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-83, A24.
Summary of State Breakouts
Alabama 20 Massachusetts 4 South Dakota 1
Arizona 18 Michigan 6 Tennessee 29
Arkansas 16 Minnesota 3 Texas 35
California 29 Mississippi 11 Utah 1
Colorado 1 Missouri 69-70 Vermont 2
Connecticut 5 Montana 1 Virginia 12
District of Columbia 3 Nebraska 2 Washington 1
Florida 15 New Jersey 7 West Virginia 2
Georgia 35 New Mexico 1 Wisconsin 5
Illinois 53 New York 9
Indiana 25 North Carolina 25
Iowa 19 Ohio 15
Kansas 9 Oklahoma 9
Kentucky 57 Oregon 2
Louisiana 2 Pennsylvania 6
Maryland 4 South Carolina 26
Breakout of Heat Fatalities July-Aug, 1983 by State
Alabama ( 20)
–20 Blanchard tally. (Nineteen noted by CDC plus Lee Co. heat stroke death of football player.)
–19 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Blount County Female 65-74
–1 Butler County Male 65-74
–1 Etowah County Female 85+
–1 Franklin County Male 65-74
–1 Hale County Female 65-74
–3 Jefferson County Males 55-64 and 75-74 Female 75-84
–1 Lawrence County Male 55-64
–1 Marshall County Male 45-54
–1 Mobile County Male 55-64
–1 Montgomery Co. Female 65-74
–1 Morgan County Male 75-84
–1 Pike County Female 55-64
–1 St. Clair County Male 75-84
–1 Shelby County Male 45-54
–2 Tuscaloosa Co. Female 65-74 Male 75-84
— 3 State, by July 26. The Register, Orange Co. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-1983, E1.
— 1 Auburn, Lee County, Aug 20. Heatstroke; Auburn Univ. football player, 20, after drills.[6]
— 1 Tuscaloosa Co., Tuscaloosa. The Register, Orange Co., CA. “160 deaths…” 7-26-1983, E1.
Arizona ( 18)
— 18 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–10 Maricopa County
–5 Females, 25-34, 65-74 (2), 75-84, 85+
–5 Males, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85+
— 1 Mohave County Female 55-64
— 1 Pima County Female 65-74
— 6 Yuma County Males 45-54 (2), 55-64 (2), and two not stated
Arkansas ( 20)
–20 State. Blanchard tally based on county breakouts below.[7]
–16 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Baxter County Male 45-54
–1 Carroll County Male 35-44
–1 Chicot County Male <1
–1 Crawford County Male 55-64
–2 Greene County Males 65-74
–1 Jackson County Male 65-74
–1 Miller County Male 45-54
–1 Polk County Male 55-64
–3 St. Francis Co. Female 55-64 Males 75-84
–1 Saline County Male 35-44
–1 Sebastian Co. Male 65-74
–1 Washington Co. Male 65-74
–1 Woodruff Co. Male 55-64
–13 State, June-Aug. Heat Wave/drought. NCDC/NOAA. Storm Data, V25/N8, 1983, p. 21.[8]
–1 Baxter County
–1 Garland County
–1 Greene County
–1 Jackson County
–1 Miller County
–2 Pulaski County
–2 Saint Francis County
–1 Saline County
–2 Sebastian County
–1 Woodruff County
California ( 29)
–29 Blanchard tally. (CDC 28 plus Orange County death of male, 71, not noted by CDC.)
–28 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Alameda County Male 85+
–4 Imperial County Males 55-64 and 65-74 Females 75-84 (two)
–1 Kern County Male 25-34
–5 Los Angeles Co. Males 25-34, 35-44 (2) 45-54, 55-64
–2 Orange County Male 45-54 Female 75-84
–6 Riverside County Males, 45-54 (2), 55-64 (2), 65-74 Female 85+
–4 San Diego Co. Males 20-24, 35-44 Female 1-4, 76-74
–2 Shasta County Males 1-4 and 55-64
–1 Ventura County Male 20-24
— 1 Huntington Beach, Orange Co. Male, 71 in retirement home with no AC; room temp 100.[9]
Colorado ( 1)
— 1 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Denver County Female 65-74
Connecticut ( 5)
— 5 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–2 Fairfield County Males 45-54 and 75-84
–1 Litchfield County Male 20-24
–2 New Haven Co. Females 75-84
District of Col. ( 3)
— 3 CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–3 District Females 35-44, 55-64, and 75-84
Florida ( 15)
–15 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Clay County Male 65-74
–3 Escambia Co. Females 55-64, 65-74, 75-84
–1 Hillsborough Co. Male 25-34
–1 Lake County Female 45-54
–6 Miami-Dade Co. Males, <1, 45-54, 55-64, 85+ Females, 55-64 and 65-74
–1 Polk County
— 8 State. Lushine. “Underreporting of Heat and Cold Related Deaths in Florida.” Figure 3.[10]
— 3 State, by July 28. Altoona Mirror PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7
Georgia (35)
–35 CDC. “Epidemiologic Notes and Reports…” MMWR, V.33, N.23, 6-15-1984, pp. 325-26.[11]
–20 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.[12]
–1 Barrow County Female 85+
–2 Bibb County Females 55-64 and 65-74
–3 Chatham County Female 55-64 Males 55-64 and 85+
–1 DeKalb County Female 75-84
–1 Dougherty Co. Male 20-24
–1 Elbert County Male 65-74
–1 Floyd County Male 35-44
–1 Fulton County Male 25-34
–1 Hart County Male 45-54
–1 Monroe County Female 65-74
–4 Muscogee Co. Males 15-19, 55-64, 75-84 Female 65-74
–1 Quitman County Male 65-74
–1 Troup County Male 35-44
–1 Upson County Female 55-64
–23 State. By July 29. Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Killer heat returns to heartland.” 7-29-1983, 8.
–22 “ by July 31. Altoona Mirror PA. “New heat wave baking southern Plains.” 8-1-‘83, 25.
–15 “ by July 26. The Register, Orange Co., CA. “160 deaths…country…” 7-26-1983, E1.
–12 “ by July 24. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as US Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
–10 “ by July 22. Daily Herald, Chicago. “42 die…heat…suffocates Midwest…” 7-22-83
— 3 “ by July 21. Register, Orange County. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-83.
Illinois ( 53)
–53 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
— 1 Champaign Co. Male 45-54
— 1 Clay County Female 85+
— 1 Clinton County Female 85+
–10 Cook County
–5 Males 25-34 (2), 45-54, 55-64, 75-84
–5 Females 55-64, 65-74, 75-84, 85+ (2)
— 1 De Witt County Male 85+
— 1 Fayette County Male 85+
— 1 Gallatin Co. Male 55-64
— 1 Kane County Male 65-74
— 1 Kankakee Co. Female 55-64
— 1 Lawrence Co. Female 65-74
— 3 McDonough Co. Female s 65-74 and 85+ (2)
— 1 McLean County Female 75-84
— 2 Madison Co. Males 65-74 and 75-84
— 2 Peoria County Male 20-24
— 1 Perry County Male 75-84
— 1 Piatt County Male 75-84
— 1 Randolph Co. Female 65-74
–20 St. Clair County [East St. Louis is in St. Clair County.]
— 9 Males 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 (3), 65-74, 75-84 (3)
–11 Females 45-54 (3) 55-64 (3), 65-74, 75-84 (4)
— 2 Saline County Males 15-19 and 55-64
— 1 Will County Female 75-84
— 1 Winnebago Co. Male 66-64
–27 State, by 7-24. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
–32 “ by 7-25. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, 1.
–28 “ by 7-28. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7.
–23 “ by 7-31. Altoona Mirror, PA. “New heat wave baking southern Plains.” 8-1-1983, 25
— 4 Chicago, July 23. Elderly residents of nursing home after building air conditioning failed.[13]
— 5 East St. Louis area. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “National toll…heat wave rises…” 7-22-83.
— 1 “ ~Aug 24. Male, 81, “whose body was found inside his locked, stifling apartment…”[14]
Indiana ( 25)
–25 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–2 Clark County Male 65-74 Female 75-84
–1 Daviess County Male 85+
–1 De Kalb County Male 45-54
–1 Lake County Female 65-74
–1 Madison County Female 15-19
–6 Marion County Male 25-34, 35-44 (2), 55-64 (2) Female 75-84
–1 Posey County Male 65-74
–2 Rush County Male 75-84 Female 85+
–1 Scott County Male 35-44
–7 Vanderburgh Co. Males 55-64 (2), 75-84, 85+ Females 45-54, 75-84 (2)
–1 Wabash County Male 75-84
–1 Wayne County Female 25-34
— 6 “ by July 24. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead…” 7-24-1983, 2A.
— 16 “ by July 28. Altoona Mirror PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7
Iowa ( 19)
–19 State. Blanchard tally. CDC 18 no. plus Postville death (Allamakee and Clayton Counties).
–18 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Audubon County Male 45-54
–2 Benton County Females 45-54 and 55-64
–1 Bremer County Male 55-64
–1 Delaware Co. Male 65-74
–1 Dubuque County Female 65-74
–2 Henry County Female 75-84 Male 75-84
–2 Jones County Male 65-74 Female 85+
–1 Marion County Male 55-64
–1 Muscatine Co. Male 55-64
–1 Page County Male 65-74
–2 Polk County Male 55-64 Female 75-84
–2 Pottawattamie Co. Males 75-84 and 85+
–1 Sac County Male 85+
— 2 State, by July 25. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, 1.
— 4 “ by July 28. Altoona Mirror PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7
— 1 Allamakee County, July 23. Heat stress; female, 14, at grandparents during heat wave.[15]
— 1 Benton Co., rural Vinton, July 23. Female in “tightly closed mobile home.” Heat wave.[16]
— 1 Des Moines, Polk Co., 7-22. Oelwein Register, IA. “Heat stress claims…” 7-25-1983, p. 1.
— 1 Polk County, July 22. Heat stress; male, 58; apartment without air conditioning. NCDC.[17]
— 1 Postville 7-23. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Heat stress claims life…Postville.” 7-25-83, 1.
Kansas ( 9)
–9 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Atchison County Female 75-84
–1 Franklin County Female 55-64
–1 Kiowa County Female 85+
–1 Nemaha County Male 25-34
–1 Sedgwick Co. Female 55-64
–3 Shawnee Co. Males 35-44, 65-74 Female 65-74
–1 Wyandotte Co. Male 55-64
–1 Kansas City, Wyandotte Co., July 17-23. Male, 64, “from the heat” while walking outside.[18]
–1 Ottawa, Franklin County, July 22. Heat prostration, female (Mary Rodriguez), 56.[19]
Kentucky ( 57)
— 57 Blanchard tally. (CDC figure of 42 plus fifteen additional Jefferson County deaths.)[20]
— 44 State, by 7-28. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7.
— 43 “ by 7-26. The Register, Orange County. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-83, E1.
— 42 “ by 7-25. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, p. 1.
— 42 “ CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
— 1 Barren County Female 65-74
— 3 Boyd County Females 55-64, 65-74 Male 85+
— 1 Carter County Male 65-74
— 2 Fayette County Male 65-74 Female 75-84
— 1 Graves County Male 65-74
— 1 Green County Female 75-84
–19 Jefferson Co.
–13 Females, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 (3), 75-84 (5), 85+ (2)
— 6 Males 55-64 (2), 65-74, 75-84, 85+ (2)
— 1 Kenton County Male 85+
— 1 Lawrence Co. Female 75-84
— 2 Lincoln County Male 55-64 Female 65-74
— 1 McCracken Co. Male 35-44
— 2 Marshall Co. Males 65-74 and 75-84
— 1 Muhlenberg Co. Male 65-74
— 1 Powell County Male 25-34
— 1 Pulaski County Male 65-74
— 1 Scott County Female 65-74
— 3 Warren County Males 55-64, 85+ Female 75-84
— 42 State. National Climatic Data Ctr., NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 20.[21]
— 34 State, by 7-24. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
Breakout of Kentucky heat deaths by identified locality (see also, CDC WONDER).
— 34 Louisville, July 10-31. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 20.
— 27 Louisville. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.[22]
— 26 “ Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead nationwide.” 7-24-1983, 2A.
— 1 “ West side, Aug 21. Hazel M. Lewis, 67, found in hot apartment.[23]
Louisiana ( 2)
— 2 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Pointe Coupee Parish Male 35-44
–1 West Baton Rouge Parish Male 35-44
Maryland ( 4)
— 4 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–2 Baltimore Male 65-74 Female 55-64
— 1 State, by July 21. Register, Orange Co. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-83.
Massachusetts ( 4)
— 4 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Bristol County Male 75-84
–1 Norfolk County Male 75-84
–2 Worcester Co. Male 85+ Female 65-74
Michigan ( 6)
— 6 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Berrien County Female <1
–1 Calhoun County Male 55-64
–1 Eaton County Male 35-44
–1 Lenawee County Female 55-64
–1 Macomb County Female 1-4
–1 Oakland County Female 25-34
Minnesota ( 3)
–3 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Martin County Male 75-84
–1 Mille Lacs Co. Female 65-74
–1 Renville County Male 55-64
–1 State, by July 28. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7.
Mississippi ( 11)
— 11 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Adams County Female 55-64
–3 Bolivar County Female 65-74 Males 35-44 and 75-84
–1 Clarke County Male 45-54
–1 Coahoma County Female 45-54
–1 Holmes County Male 55-64
–1 Lincoln County Male 35-44
–2 Scott County Male 45-54 Female 45-54
–1 Tunica County Male 85+
Missouri (69-70)
–70 State. Lyman, Francesca, et al. The Greenhouse Trap. Boston: Beacon Press, 1990, p. 75.
–69 “ Blanchard tally of county breakouts below.[24]
–67 “ CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
— 1 Buchanan Co. Male 55-64
— 1 Clay County Female 65-74
— 1 Crawford Co. Female 85+
— 8 Jackson County Males, 25-34, 35-44, 65-74 (4) Females 65-74 (2)
— 1 Johnson County Female 1-4
— 2 Marion County Female 65-74 Male 75-84
— 1 Platte County Male 35-44
— 1 Pulaski County Female 75-84
— 1 Randolph Co. Male 65-74
— 1 Ripley County Male 35-44
— 2 Saline County Female 55-64 Male 65-74
— 1 Scott County Female 65-74
— 1 St. Francis Co. Female 65-74
–39 St. Louis City
–10 Males 15-19, 25-34, 35-44 (3) 45-54, 55-64 (2), 65-74, 75-84
–29 Females 45-54 (4), 55-64 (3), 65-74 (6), 75-84 (13), 85+ (3)
— 5 St. Louis Co. Males 1-4 and 65-74 Females 55-64 and 75-84 (2)
— 1 Taney County Male 35-44
— 9 “ by 7-21. Register, Orange County. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-83.
–15 “ by 7-22. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “National toll…heat wave rises to 33…” 7-22-83
–20 “ by 7-22. Daily Herald, Chicago. “42 die…heat wave suffocates Midwest…” 7-22-83.
–29 “ by 7-24. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
–33 “ by 7-25. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, 1.
–36 “ by 7-26. The Register, Orange County. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-1983, E1.
–37 “ by 7-29. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Heat wave returns as…” 7-29-1983, 14B.
–38 “ by 7-28. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7.
–40 “ by 7-31. Altoona Mirror, PA. “New heat wave baking southern Plains.” 8-1-1983, 25
–41 “ by 7-29. Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Killer heat returns to heartland.” 7-29-1983, 8.
–46 “ by Aug 5. AP. “Heat, wind hit nation.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 8-9-1983, p. 1.
— 1 “ Aug 4. AP. “Heat, wind hit nation.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 8-9-1983, p. 1.
— 2 “ Aug 5. AP. “Heat, wind hit nation.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 8-9-1983, p. 1.
— 1 Kansas City, Jackson County, Aug 7. Heatstroke, Male, 74, in Veteran’s hospital.[25]
— 1 Sikeston, Scott County, July 28. Female, 84, “felled by the heat” according to Coroner.[26]
— 1 Sikeston, Aug 2-3. Male, 65; “caused by the heat” according to Scott County officials.[27]
— 1 St. Louis area, July 15. Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Eastern half…nation…” 7-17-83, A5.
— 1 “ July 18. Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Mercury Soars Across Nation.” 7-19-1983, 1.
— 3 “ July 15-19. Bedford Gazette, PA. “Six Dead as Heat Wave Burns…” 7-20-1983, 3.
— 2 “ July 20. The Register, Orange Co. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-1983.
— 1 “ July 21. The Register, Orange Co. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-1983.
— 1 “ July 22. Boy (Paul Jason Carter), 3, left sleeping in a church van.[28]
— 3 “ Aug 20. Males. NYT. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as US Toll…” 7-24-1983.
— 1 “ Aug 21. Elderly male.[29] St. Louis Health Commissioner William Hope cited.
— 1 “ Aug 22. Elderly female.[30] St. Louis Health Commissioner William Hope cited.
–36 “ by July 26. The Register, Orange Co.. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-1983, E1.
–38 “ by July 23. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead…” 7-24-1983, 2A .
–50 “ by July 29. Galveston Daily News, TX. “Heat wave returns…” 7-29-1983, 14B.
–51 “ by July 30. Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “Heat toll reaches 187.” 7-30-1983, 1.
–35 “ July 11-Aug 15. CDC. “Epidemiologic Notes and Reports…” MMWR, 33/23, 6-15-1984.[31]
–54 “ by Aug 24. UPI. “South bears burden of summer’s fire.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-24-83, 18.[32]
Montana ( 1)
–1 Meagher Co., female, 55-64. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat/hyperthermia.
Nebraska ( 2)
–1 Douglas County. Male, 65-74. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat/hyperthermia.
–1 Jefferson County. Female, 85+. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat/hyperthermia.
New Jersey ( 7)
— 7 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Atlantic County Female 75-84
–1 Burlington Co. Male 20-24
–2 Essex County Male <1 Female 85+
–2 Gloucester Co. Male 55-64 Female 85+
–1 Hudson County Male 45-54
New Mexico ( 1)
— 1 Lea County. Male, 35-44. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia.
New York ( 9)
–9 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Chenango Co. Male 75-84
–1 Erie County Male 45-54
–2 Kings County Male 1-4 Female 1-4
–1 Ontario County Female 75-84
–1 Queens County Female 75-84
–1 Schenectady Co. Male 35-44
–1 Wayne County Female 85+
–1 Westchester Co. Male 20-24
–1 NYC, July 18. Ruston Leader, LA. “Seven die in storms, steamy heat wave.” 7-18-1983, 3.
North Carolina (25)
–25 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Alamance Co. Male 25-34
–1 Beaufort County Male 55-64
–2 Bertie County Males 25-34 and 55-64
–1 Cabarrus County Female 65-74
–1 Cleveland Co. Female 55-64
–1 Cumberland Co. Male 25-34
–1 Forsyth County Female <1
–1 Guilford County Male 35-44
–1 Henderson Co. Male 35-44
–1 Johnston County Male 25-34
–1 Lenoir County Male 35-44
–1 Martin County Female 55-64
–1 Mecklenburg Co. Male 65-74
–1 Orange County Male 65-74
–2 Richmond Co. Male 35-44 Female 85+
–1 Rockingham Co. Female 65-74
–2 Rowan County Male 65-74 Female 75-84
–2 Wake County Male 65-74 Female 75-84
–1 Warren County Male 65-74
–1 Washington Co. Female 75-84
–1 Wayne County Female 75-84
–17 State. Mirabelli and Richardson. “Heat-Related Fatalities in North Carolina.” Figure 1.
— 2 State, by July 21. Register, Orange Co. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-83.
— 5 “ by July 24. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead…” 7-24-1983, 2A.
— 6 “ July 12-24. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 29.
— 9 “ by July 28. Altoona Mirror PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-1983, 7
— 1 “ Aug. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 8, Aug 1983, p. 34.[33]
— 1 Lenoir Co., LaGrange, July 18. Bedford Gazette, PA. “Six Dead as Heat Wave…” 7-20-83.
Ohio ( 15)
–15 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–4 Butler County Females 45-54, 75-84, 85+ Male 45-54
–2 Cuyahoga Co. Females 65-74
–4 Franklin County Females 35-44 and 85+ Males 55-64 and 85+
–2 Hamilton County Females 55-64 and 65-74
–1 Mahoning Co. Male 45-54
–1 Marion County Female 85+
–1 Montgomery Co. Female 75-84
— 3 State, by July 24. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead…” 7-24-1983, 2A.
— 1 Dayton, Mont. Co. Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “Heat persists; 123 dead…” 7-24-1983, 2A.
Oklahoma ( 9)
— 9 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Caddo County Female 75-84
–1 Muskogee Co. Female 55-64
–3 Oklahoma Co. Males 55-64 (2) Female 75-84
–1 Payne County Male 65-74
–1 Tulsa County Female 65-74
–1 Woodward Co. Male 20-24
— 4 State, by 7-31. Altoona Mirror PA. “New heat wave baking southern Plains.” 8-1-1983, 25
— 1 Eufaula, McIntosh Co., ~July 27. Female “heat wave fatality,” boarding house.[34]
— 1 Oklahoma City, July 25. Male body found (Robert Owen), 55, in field in SW OK City.[35]
— 1 Oklahoma City, July 26. Male body found (James Mahan), 57; his apt., no air conditioner.[36]
Oregon ( 2)
— 2 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Lake County Male 35-44
–1 Multnomah Co. Female 85+
Pennsylvania ( 6)
— 6 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Montgomery Co. Male 85+
–4 Philadelphia Co. Females 55-64, 75-84, 85+ Male 85+
–1 Pike County Male 15-19
South Carolina (26)
–26 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Abbeville Co. Male 75-84
–1 Aiken County Female 35-44
–3 Anderson Co. Female 75-84 Males 75-84 (2)
–2 Beaufort County Male 45-54 Female 75-84
–1 Berkeley County Male 35-44
–1 Charleston Co. Male 65-74
–3 Chesterfield Co. Males 35-44, 65-74 Female 75-84
–1 Florence County Male 25-34
–1 Greenville Co. Male 25-34
–1 Newberry Co. Male 35-44
–2 Orangeburg Co. Female 55-64 Male 55-64
–1 Pickens County Female 55-64
–3 Richland County Females 45-54. 55-64 Male 45-54
–1 Spartanburg Co. Male 75-84
–4 Williamsburg Co. Males 15-19, 45-54, 65-74 Female 65-74
— 1 State, by July 25. Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Parts of U.S. remain hot.” 7-25-1983, 1.
— 2 “ by July 26. The Register, Orange Co.. “160 deaths across country…” 7-26-83, E1.
— 3 “ by July 28. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Another heat wave takes aim on East.” 7-28-‘83, 7.
— 4 “ by July 29. Kokomo Tribune, IN. “Killer heat returns to heartland.” 7-29-1983, p. 8.
–11 State, July. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 37.[37]
South Dakota ( 1)
–1 Hutchinson Co. Male, 85+. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia.
Tennessee (29)
–29 State. Blanchard tally of breakouts below.[38]
–25 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–6 Davidson Co. Males 45-54, 75-84 Females, 55-64, 75-84 (2), and 85+.
–4 Hamilton County Males 45-54, 75-84 Females, 75-84, 85+.
–1 Hickman County Male 25-34
–1 Jefferson County Male 65-74
–1 Knox County Female 55-64
–1 Macon County Male 55-64
–2 Madison County Females 55-64 and 85+.
–1 Perry County Female 65-74
–1 Roane County Male 75-84
–4 Shelby County Males 25-34, 65-74 Females 65-74, 85+.
–1 Warren County Male 45-54
–2 Williamson Co. Males 55-65 and 85+.
–15 State. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No’s 7-8, July-Aug 1983.
–12 July 20-24. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 39.
–1 Bradley County, July 23; 74-year-old person.
–2 Davidson County, July 23; 52-years-old and 77-years-old persons.
–1 Davidson County, July 24; 86-years-old person.
–1 Hamilton County, July 22; age not noted.
–2 Hamilton County, July 23; 79 and 107-years-old persons.
–1 Obion County, July 21; 67-year-old person.
–1 Robertson County, July 23; person, age not noted.
–1 Robertson County, July 24; 83-year-old person.
–1 Shelby County, July 22, 80-years-old person.
–1 Shelby County, July 24, 73-years-old.
— 3 Aug 20-24. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 8, Aug 1983, p. 41.[39]
–1 Hamilton County, Chattanooga. Male, 46.
–1 Knox County, Knoxville. Female, 61.
–1 Shelby County, Memphis. Male, 31.
Texas (35)
–35 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Angelina County Female 55-64
–1 Archer County Male 55-64
–1 Bandera County Female 75-84
–8 Dallas County Females 1-4, 75-84 (4) Males 45-54, 65-74 (2)
–1 Denton County Female 75-84
–1 Ector County Male 45-54
–1 Ellis County Female 75-84
–1 El Paso County Male 55-64
–1 Galveston Co. Female 55-64
–1 Gregg County Male 25-34
–1 Grimes County Male 6-9
–1 Guadalupe Co. Male 25-34
–5 Harris County Females 1-4, 75-84 Males 1-4 and 65-74 (2)
–4 Jefferson County Males 25-34, 45-54, 75-84 Female 75-84
–1 Leon County Male 20-24
–1 Shelby County Male 55-64
–4 Tarrant County Males 35-44, 55-64 (2) Female 45-54
— 1 Wilson County Male 45-54
— 1 Dallas, Dallas County, July 31. Heatstroke; female, 78.[40]
Utah ( 1)
–1 Salt Lake County, male, ,1. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia.
Vermont ( 2)
— 2 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Chittenden Co. Male 25-34
–1 Franklin County Male 35-44
Virginia (12)
–12 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Buchanan Co. Male 35-44
–6 Norfolk City Females 35-44, 75-84 (3) Males 45-54 and 65-74
–1 Northampton Co. Male 65-74
–2 Richmond City Males 65-74
–1 Roanoke City Female 55-64
–1 Wise County Male 55-65
Washington ( 1)
–1 Grays Harbor Co. Female, 45-54. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperther.
West Virginia ( 2)
— 2 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Wayne County Male 35-44
–1 Wood County Male 35-44
Wisconsin ( 5)
— 5 State. CDC WONDER. ICD-9, E900 Excessive heat – hyperthermia, 2-16-2017 search.
–1 Calumet County Male 75-84
–2 Iowa County Male 65-74 Female 85+.
–1 Jefferson County Male 65-74
–1 Washington Co. Female 25-34
Narrative Information
General or Multiple States (Chronological)
July 15: “By UPI. Easterners got yet another day of Dixie summer Saturday as a heat wave spread from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi with no relief in sight….
“The heat wave killed at least one woman. A 53-year-old St. Louis woman died of heatstroke Friday night. The mercury in St. Louis stayed below the 90-degree mark Friday for the first time in seven days.
“A massive high-pressure center was sending the Southern-style summer across the Eastern half of the nation, National Weather Service forecaster Nolan Duke said. “It’s pretty much what we expect for the Gulf Coast States, but it’s heading up into New England, across the Great Lakes and over into the Mississippi Valley,” Duke said. The air system is “repelling any entrance of cool weather,” Duke said. “It’ll be hot and smoggy, with a lot of sunshine, and no relief through the next week.”….” (Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Eastern half of nation suffers with heat wave.” 7-17-1983, A5.)
July 17: “A heat wave continued over the northeastern third of the nation Saturday while record-breaking cool weather settled over the Northwest. Temperatures reached 100 degrees along the southern Atlantic Coast. Columbia, S.C., had a record high of 103 and a half-dozen cities from the Carolinas to Michigan reported record high temperatures in the 90s. Highs in the upper 90s were recorded as far north as Michigan and New York….” (Associated Press. “Nation: Heat wave, cold.” Yuma Sun, AZ. 7-17-1983, p. 8.)
July 20, AP: “Savage thunderstorms packing winds up to 87 mph hammered northern Illinois while in the southern part of the state a heat spell with temperatures as high as 100 degrees were linked to four deaths near St. Louis.
“Edwardsville Mayor Kenneth Evers warned water should not be used for lawns, washing cars and for swimming pools. The neighboring Madison County town of Troy already has a water curtailment plan in effect.
“No relief was in sight for today with temperatures of 92-102 predicted across the state by the National Weather Service. Chicago was in its seventh straight day of 90-plus temperatures and even savage thunderstorms slamming through the area could not sustain relief. Temperatures at dawn were around 80 degrees.
“The only heat wave deaths reported were those around St. Louis. Among the dead was 78-year-old Virginia Jenkins, a victim of heatstroke found dead in her closed home in Washington Park near East St. Louis. Health officials said one of the victims lived in St. Louis and the other two lived on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. The deaths came during an 11-day period of 90-plus temperatures….” (Alton Telegraph, IL. “Southern Illinois swelters as heat hovers near 100.” 7-20-1983, 1.)
July 20, AP: “St. Louis officials declared a heat emergency Tuesday and opened emergency shelters in the second week of a triple-digit heat wave that has killed at least six people nationwide on scorched city streets find tobacco fields.
“Day after day of baking sunshine and light winds in the Midwest and East have pushed temperatures gradually upward and dried out fields that were soaked by this spring’s heavy rains. Now crops are endangered and water supplies are dropping.
“Forty towns and cities in Massachusetts and several in New Jersey have restricted water use because of low supplies or poor pressure, and suburbs of Baltimore banned car washing and lawn
sprinkling as water pumps strained to meet the demand.
“Kentucky Lt. Gov. Martha Layne Collins on Tuesday asked the federal government to declare disaster areas in 23 counties that suffered floods this spring and are parched this summer….
“A 38-year-old man working in a tobacco field near LaGrange, N.C., passed out Monday afternoon and died a half-hour later after being taken to a nearby, house. Officials said Allen M. Whitfield died of heat stroke.
“There have been three heat-related deaths since Friday in the St. Louis area, prompting city Health Commissioner William Hope to declare an emergency on the llth day of temperatures in the 90s. The 19 shelters include senior citizens’ centers, day care centers and other buildings willing to open cool rooms to hot residents. “They’re basically places where people can go to cool off, get a drink, just relax and stay out of the sun,” Hope said. St. Louis officials took early action this year remembering a July 1980 heat wave that killed 113 people, Hope said.” (Bedford Gazette, PA. “Six Dead as Heat Wave Burns Across America.” 7-20-1983, 3.)
July 21, AP: “A triple-digit, crop-wilting heat wave blamed in 24 deaths baked the nation with no relief in sight today, prompting sweltering Americans to stock up on dry ice, splash in city fountains and line up for free fans.
“With temperatures Wednesday hitting 107 in Pierre, S.D.; 104 in Des Moines, Iowa; and 101 in St. Louis, the operative principle was to try to stay cool. A St. Louis minister offered free electric fans to help people suffering from the blistering sun….
“The heat wave is nearly 2 weeks old, but there were no reported deaths nationwide until Friday [July 15]. In Missouri, the heat was blamed for the death today [July 21] of a 76-year-old woman in St. Louis County, bringing the state death toll to nine. Two elderly men and one woman died Wednesday [July 20]. St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary declared a heat emergency and social agencies prepared 50 air-conditioned shelters to help to help the elderly cope with the soaring temperatures.
“Ten people have died in Georgia from the weather, including a Connecticut National Guardsmen who collapsed during a training exercise and two men who died today. One was found in his apartment with the heat on. Illinois has had three deaths, all in the East St. Louis area. North Carolina has had two and New York and Maryland have had one each….” (The Register, Orange County, CA. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-1983, A24.)
July 22, AP: “Two elderly women living near St. Louis died Thursday in a heat wave that has grown increasingly dangerous, killing 33 people and causing more than 300 to become ill in the East and Midwest.
“The worst hot spell since hundreds of people died in 1980 has killed 15 people in 100-degree Missouri and nine in Georgia, including a Connecticut National Guardsman who suffered heat stroke during training and a man in his 30s who dropped dead while jogging.
“More than 300 cattle perished in South Dakota and at least five dogs died in Virginia.
“Two hundred people watching or marching in a parade in Minneapolis were treated for heat exhaustion Wednesday night. “I started to forget where I was,” said Mike Koran, 33, who plays a drum for the University of Minnesota Alumni Band. “I was looking at the buildings and I didn’t recognize any of them. This is the hottest parade I’ve ever marched in.” People were placed on cots outdoors and soaked with cold water in the 90-degree heat. About 44 were sent to Hennepin County Medical Center for emergency treatment, said spokeswoman Monette Johnson.
“A storm with 115 mph winds in Minnesota left 62,000 homes and businesses still without air conditioning Thursday in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, where the temperature was 94 degrees.
“In addition to the deaths in Missouri and Georgia, five heat-related deaths have been reported in Illinois, all in the St. Louis area, two have been reported in North Carolina, and one each has been reported in New York and Maryland.
“Officials said 124 illnesses in Georgia were blamed on the heat, as were the illnesses of two dozen people treated in Kansas City area hospitals, according to health officials.” (Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. “National toll for heat wave rises to 33 dead, over 300 ill.” 7-22-1983, 11.)
July 24, NYT: “For more than two weeks a deadly heat wave with temperatures in the upper 90’s and low 100’s has kept the daytime sky here a sickly pastel blue. Forty-two people in the St. Louis area have died from heat-related causes as of today, accounting for more than one-third of the national heat death toll of 123.
“Since the heat wave began, the weather has been blamed for at least 29 deaths in Missouri; 34 in Kentucky, 27 in Illinois; 12 in Georgia, and smaller numbers in North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, New York, Tennessee and Maryland. Four elderly residents of a Chicago nursing home died after the building’s air conditioning system failed in Friday’s 100-degree temperatures. Deputy Health Commissioner Phillip Davis said it was ”a reasonable assumption” that the deaths were heat-related.
“City and county officials in the St. Louis area believe heat fatalities here would be even higher if it were not for more than 70 cooling-off centers, which were opened in air-conditioned public buildings, church halls, Masonic temples, Salvation Army centers and recreation buildings after local officials declared a heat emergency. Some of the centers are equipped with cots for those who wish to stay overnight.
“The centers grew out of the experiences of the 1980 heat wave, which left more than 113 people dead in St. Louis. Most of them were elderly, living in crime-ridden neighborhoods in old row houses whose windows had been nailed shutto prevent break-ins.
“Most victims of the heat have been women older than 55 who lived alone, but, unlike 1980, some of those who died this week have been younger. On Friday, as the temperature climbed to 102 degrees, a 3-year-old boy, Paul Jason Carter, died after being left sleeping in a church van. And on Thursday three men were found dead from the heat, the first male victims.
“Besides its human toll, the impact of the relentless heat is being felt by utility companies and public agencies. Because of the demand, electrical transformers are burning out more frequently, causing failures in scattered sections of the St. Louis area. An overheated expansion beam under an interstate highway bridge forced the closing of some traffic lanes over a Mississippi River span; highways in other areas have buckled from the heat. In St. Louis, the water pressure has dropped to dangerously low levels because people have been opening fire hydrants.
“William B. Hope, the St. Louis Health Commissioner, issued an advisory urging people to greatly restrict outdoor activities. Those who do venture outside should wear light clothing and ventilated hats or carry umbrellas to protect the head, he said, and women should not wear pantyhose or other confining clothing outdoors for any extended period of time….
“Lieut. Gov. Martha Layne Collins of Kentucky declared a state of emergency in Louisville late Friday at the request of Mayor Harvey Sloane, who said hospitals were running out of space for heat victims. Twenty-seven deaths from the heat had been reported in Louisville as of Saturday.” (NYT, “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” July 24, 1983.)
July 25: “A sizzling heat wave blamed for 148 deaths nationwide continued to fry Dixie today after temperatures climbed as high as 107 degrees, but thunderstorms cooled the country’s midsection like tapwater dancing on a hot skillet.
“A series of heavy rains hit St. Louis on Sunday, prompting officials to call a meeting for today to decide whether to lift a heat emergency decree. Temperatures in the area have hovered over the 100 mark for five days and the heat emergency has been in effect for six. For Missouri and for most of the Midwest, Great Plains and Northeast, today’s weather should bring some relief, with highs in the 80s forecast from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast.
“But more suffering was in store for the Deep South, where temperatures over 100 flirted with all-time heat records. Temperatures in the 80s were forecast for Kentucky, which has had 42 heat-related deaths in the past two weeks and temperatures that have soared into the 90s for the last 15 days. Despite the cooling trend, Jefferson County coroner Robert Carter said those most susceptible to heat problems — the elderly and those with diabetes or cardiovascular ailments — remain at risk.
“The heat wave nationwide is the worst since 1980, when nearly 1,300 deaths were attributed to high temperatures. Here is a breakdown of deaths attributed to the heat wave: Kentucky 42; Missouri 33; Illinois 32; Georgia 12; Tennessee 9; Indiana 6; North Carolina 5; Ohio 3; Iowa 2; and one each in South Carolina, Arkansas, Maryland and New York.” (Associated Press. “Deaths attributed to heat rise to 148.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 7-25-1983, p. 14.)
July 26, UPI: “For a moment at least, the nation’s central states took a breath of cool air Monday [July 25]. But heat burned on in the South. South Carolina broiled in its worst heat wave in 30 years and no relief was in sight. A high pressure system stalled over the East Coast and Sunday’s temperature blistered Columbia on a 107-degree range. The toll from the nation’s worst heat wave in three years climbed to 137. The most deaths came in the sweltering St. Louis and Louisville areas, where elderly people cooped up in sealed, oven-dry rooms died wholesale.
“….After five consecutive days of 100-degree-plus scorchers and more than two weeks in the 90s, St. Louis got 1.3 inches of cool, heat-breaking rains. Forty-eight area people had already died in the heat. Despite the break in the weather, doctors at St. Louis’ City Hospital refused to discharge patients who had recovered from heat-related illnesses. They said the homes of patients were still stifling….” (UPI. “Heat wave leaves Midwest.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-26-1983, p. 10.)
July 27: “….Temperatures around 100 were expected in Oklahoma and parts of Texas and the desert Southwest today with readings in the 90s for the Southeast. The northern third of the country was expected to reach the 80s.
“St. Louis health officials were keeping a wary eye on the thermometer as temperatures, which have hovered around 90-degree mark for the past couple days, were forecast to creep up to the mid-90s by the end of the week. The Missouri death toll stood at 39 Tuesday with the addition of a 40-year-old Kansas City man, who was found in his apartment on Sunday. Thirty people in the St. Louis area have succumbed to the high temperatures. Another 17 heat-related deaths have been reported across the Mississippi River in the East St. Louis, Ill., area.” (Associated Press. “The Weather…Nation: Plains stormy.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 7-27-1983, p. 28.)
July 28, UPI: “The summer’s second heat wave rolled out of the Plains into the Midwest today, pushing the thermometer past 100 in sun-scorched states where 175 people have already died from sweltering temperatures. ‘We’re setting up for that same situation we had (with the first heat wave), the jet stream sweeping from the southwest across the western edge of the Plains into Canada and pulling hot air north and east,’ said forecaster Nolan Duke at the National Severe Storms Center in Kansas City, Mo. ‘The heat wave’s back,’ Duke said. ‘We’ve got a 106 forecast for Wichita and we’ve got 100-degree temperatures forecast all the way from Texas to Nebraska and Missouri.’ Temperatures Wednesday were above 100 across much of the Plains. It was 106 at Concordia, 105 at Salina, 104 at Gage, Okla., 102 at Wichita Falls, Texas, 101 at Tulsa, Okla., and 100 at Kansas City….” (United Press International (Brenda W. Rotzoll). “Three-digit weather scorches Midwest.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-28-2983, p. 8.)
July 29: “After a short breather, the killer heat wave has returned to the heartland, bringing back the triple-digit temperatures and jungle-like humidity that have claimed 180 lives….
“An elderly Scott County woman became Missouri’s 41st heat-related fatality Thursday, the first in three days. Effie Morrow Beaird, 84, was found dead in her closed Sikeston home by her brother, said Scott County Coroner Tim Nunnelee. She had apparently been working in her garden just before she was felled by the heat, he said. A high reading of 100 degrees at mid-afternoon Thursday in St. Louis caused city and county authorities to reinstitute a heat warning that had been called off the day before. Missouri’s high was 103 at Kansas City, and the National Weather Service Severe Storms Center said no relief was in sight.
“Chicago sweltered under a record 100 degrees Thursday, breaking the previous high of 98 set in 1941. Illinois Agriculture Director Jerry Werries said the prolonged heat cut corn yields in the southern part of the state by 30 percent, with smaller losses in northern sections.
“Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees from northern Texas across Oklahoma and eastern Kansas to western Missouri.
“Midwestern thunderstorms dumped up to 4 inches of rain in Michigan and buffeted parts of Nebraska with 80-mph winds….
“In Eufaula, Okla., second-degree manslaughter charges were filed against the four owners of a home for the mentally ill where a woman died and five other residents were hospitalized because of excessively high temperatures. The four were to be arraigned today in McIntosh County District Court….
“Here is a state-by-state breakdown of the July heat wave deaths: Kentucky 43, Missouri 41, Illinois 32, Georgia 23, Indiana six, North Carolina nine, Tennessee 10, Ohio three, Iowa two, Alabama three, South Carolina four, and one each in Arkansas, Maryland, New York and Oklahoma.” (Associated Press. After short breather, heat wave returns.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 7-29-1983, p. 6.)
July 30, UPI: “By United Press International. The second blast of a one-two heat wave sent temperatures past the 100-mark, prompting emergency declarations in the middle United States, while storms packing 65 mph winds and 2½ inch hail knocked out power to 70,000 people in the northern Plains. Two consecutive heat waves have been blamed for 187 deaths.
“In Oklahoma, temperatures soared into the 100s for the eighth day. It was 103 at Altus yesterday, 101 at Hobart and 100 at Tulsa. Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh issued an emergency declaration, ordered daily inspections for excessive heat at all nursing homes and boarding houses, and urged all mayors and city officials to keep “all public facilities” open seven days a week as shelters from the heat….
“St. Louis, which has had 51 heat-related deaths since the oppressive heat bore down more than two weeks ago, had 100 again yesterday.
“It was 101 at Salina, Kan., 100 at Russell, Kan., and Joplin, Mo., 99 at Jefferson City, Mo., and 97 at Columbia, Mo., Kansas City and Sedalia, Mo.
“Cook County Coroner Robert Stein ruled the deaths of four people in an overheated nursing home in Chicago were homicides. He said the victims would have lived longer had it not been for the 105-degree heat that resulted from an air conditioning breakdown.
“Four operators of a boarding home in Eufaula, Okla., where a woman died of heat-stroke pleaded innocent to second-degree manslaughter charges.” (Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “Heat toll reaches 187.” 7-30-1983, 1.)
Aug 1, UPI: “The nationwide death toll from back-to-back heat waves approached 200 Sunday as 90-degree temperatures threatened to do more damage in the southern Plains….The heat waves, which have been blamed for 189 deaths nationwide this month [July], were producing 90-degree temperatures Sunday [July 31] in the southern Plains. The 90-degree readings were expected to bring some relief, compared to Saturday’s 100-degree plus readings….said National Weather Service meteorologist Nolan Duke….The nation’s hot spots Sunday were Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, where temperatures climbed into the high 90s. On Saturday, Oklahoma was put under an emergency declaration after eight days of 100-plus temperatures ….Temperatures in the mid-90s were forecast for the Mississippi Valley from Louisiana to Missouri. Cooling centers to aid the elderly and poor were open in the St. Louis area, where 51 people have suffered heat-related deaths sine the oppressive heat choked the area more than two weeks ago.” (UPI. “Heat wave death toll approaches 200.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-1-1983, 16.)
Aug 8, UPI: “….Readings of 102 degrees were reported in Pierre, S.D. …Crisp early-morning temperatures quickly wilted as temperatures went over 90 degrees over the Midwest. The heat wave, blamed for at least 195 deaths since early July, showed no signs of relief….In Sacramento, Calif., forecasters said expected highs of 103 or 104 would rival the record of 108 set in 1913.” (UPI. “Remnants of heat wave drape much of nation.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-8-1983, p. 5.)
Aug 9, AP: “Baking heat has returned to the East and Midwest, jeopardizing people and pets, and jamming beaches with bathers, while monsoon-like winds sent surf crashing into the Southern California coast…Temperatures soared to 96 degrees Monday [Aug 8] in Boston, breaking the record of 95 set in 1949, but a cool front had moved in today and doused New England and parts of New York state with thunderstorms. In New York City, Consolidated Edison officials reported record demand for electricity as the mercury rose to 94.
“It was the 13th straight day of temperatures over 90 in Washington, D.C., short of the 20 consecutive days recorded during the heat wave of 1980. Similar temperatures have been recorded on 27 of the past 38 days.
“A lingering series of heat waves sine has claimed at least 183 lives in 15 states since early July, officials said. In Missouri, one heat death occurred Thursday and two on Friday to bring that state total to 46.
“In Baltimore, which has recorded highs over 90 on 27 of the past 39 days, the National Weather Service said this year’s heat wave was the worst in 28 years.
“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meanwhile reported that Americans spent $2.055 billion, or $377 million more than normal, for air conditioning in the last three weeks of July. It blamed unusually hot and humid conditions…” (Associated Press (Dean Fosdick). “Heat, wind hit nation.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 8-9-1983, p. 1.)
Aug 20: “The Midwest’s heat wave, which sent 11 high school students to hospitals in Indiana, began abating Saturday [Aug 20] as hot air slid over the East and the remains of Hurricane Alicia pushed cool, wet weather onto the parched Plains. Thunderstorms moved from north central Texas across Oklahoma and into central Kansas, with as much as four inches of rain recorded in central Oklahoma in a 24-hour period.
“Indiana, Iowa and Illinois had reported temperatures above 100 Friday, with at least 10 cities reporting record heat. But on Saturday most of the area had temperatures only in the 90s.
“In central Indiana, where the high school football season began Friday night, officials called frequent timeouts to hose down players and rub them with ice. Two Frankfort players were taken to a hospital where they were treated for heat exhaustion. Nine high school band members in Indianapolis were taken to a hospital Friday after they suffered faintness, numbness and hyperventilation during another football game, said hospital spokesman Dr. John D. Graham. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Harold H. Negley issued a warning Saturday to high schools to have a doctor present during games. Negley also said extra supplies of towels, fluids, and ice ‘must be available’ and that pre-game and halftime assessments of players’ conditions ‘should be made.’
“At Chicago, where the city opened emergency cooling centers Friday for the first time this summer as the temperature hit 99, Saturday’s temperature was in the low 80s and cooling centers were not opened.
“But while the most of the Midwest cooled into the 90s, temperatures rose into the 90s Saturday from central New England through Florida and to near 100 in North Carolina. Farmers contined to watch their crops turn brown in North Carolina where the last substantial rainfall recorded at the Raleigh-Durham Airport weather station was June 6 and 7 when 1.36 inches fell. The last measurable rainfall was Aug. 12 when .29 of an inch was recorded. ‘I’ve never before walked in an alfalfa field that was supposed to be green and heard it rattle,’ said Fred W. Burt, a farmer in southern Wake County.
“In Virginia, all-time high temperatures were recorded in at least five locations, including Roanoke, where a reading of 104 degrees broke the old record of 96 degrees set on this date in 1954.
“A record 101 degrees was also measured in Columbus, Ohio, breaking a 28-year-old record for the date and marking the first time the mercury topped 100 in the capital city since Aug. 4, 1955.
“Oklahoma’s cotton crop may have been saved by Alicia’s rain, a state agriculture official said Saturday. ‘All the dryland crops needed it,’ said John Waldrop, spokesman for the Oklahoma Crop and Livestock Reporting Service, some of the state’s dryland cotton crop — an estimated 304,000 acres — would not have survived until harvest without the rain, he said. In central Oklahoma, the rain prompted flash flood warnings, and the Highway Patrol said high water closed part of a highway near El Reno….” (Associated Press. “Heat wave beginning to subside.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-21-1983, p. 32.)
Aug 22: “Thunderstorms drenched the Midwest and southern Plains states today, after a heat wave singed the South with record temperatures blamed for one death in North Carolina and a damaging propane explosion in Virginia….
“A 104-degree reading Saturday [Aug 21] in Lynchburg, Va., was the highest ever recorded in that city. All-time heat records also tumbled in Augusta, Ga., where it reached 108 degrees Sunday, and in Roanoke, Va., where the mercury hit 105 degrees Sunday. The extreme heat in Lynchburg caused an explosion in a propane tank on a second-floor balcony at Walden Pond subdivision Sunday, said deputy Fire Marshall G. Wayne Saunders. He said the propane gas, which is heavier than air, apparently leaked out of the tank, floated toward the ground and was ignited by an exhaust fan from a first-floor laundry room. No injuries were reported in the fire but 12 apartments were damaged.
“An elderly man in North Carolina died Sunday after he collapsed from the heat while riding his motorcycle, state police reported today. The man fell from his vehicle and rolled into a ditch.” (Assoc. Press. “The Weather….Nation: Record Highs.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-22-1983, p. 9.)
Aug 22-23: “A record-breaking heat wave that has sent temperatures to 100 degrees or more in 18 cities held on today across the Midwest and Southeast with ‘no relief in sight,’ baking crops, closing schools and causing at least eight deaths. New temperature marks were set or tied in 25 cities in a dozen states Monday [Aug 22], from Missouri to the Carolinas, and although thunderstorms dropped as much as a half-foot of rain on sections of Nebraska by midnight, they may have done farmers more harm than good, a forecaster said. ‘We see no immediate relief from the heat,’ said Harry Gordon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City, Mo. ‘The nation’s high was 107 yesterday in Augusta, Ga., and Fayetteville, N.C., and we expect more of the same around there today.’
“The heat wave, which began Saturday, has broken records in up to 40 cities, some of which have stood since the late 1800s, Gordon said. ‘Although we had some pretty good rains reported yesterday — not to mention wind damage in five states — any break from the heat will be short-lived,’ he said today….
“Public schools already in regular session in Nashville, Tenn., were ordered closed today and more to remain closed until a break in the heat. Officials will decide ‘on a day-to-day basis’ whether conditions have improved enough for the city’s 63,000 students to resume classes. ‘In some classes the temperature today ranged from 96 to 100 degrees,’ said Charles Frazier, director of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County schools. ‘We feel it’s in the best interest of the students and teachers to close school.’
“Students were sent home early Monday in Pender, Dublin, Scotland and Buncombe counties in North Carolina and in the cities of High Point and Reidsville Closings or short school days also were ordered in some Kentucky communities.
“The deaths of two elderly St. Louis residents increased the city’s heat toll to 35 since July 15, Health Commissioner William Bo. Hope said. Heat has been blamed for three deaths in Alabama, two in Missouri, and one each in North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois….” (AP. “Record heat wave continues with no relief in sight.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-23-1983, p. 6.)
Aug 23-24: “A sizzling heat wave that has claimed 18 lives and ‘just keeps getting hotter’ marked time in the South today as the second tropical storm of the season grew stronger off the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Students left sweltering schools early on Tuesday [Aug 23], the elderly stayed at air-conditioned shelters, soybean and hay crops withered and thousands of chickens died in the heat. ‘The culprit right now is a front that’s wandering almost along the Mason-Dixon line, a barrier that won’t allow cooler air in from the west,’ said Harry Gordon, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Severe Storms Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“The mercury soared over the century mark Tuesday in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee, but the nation’s hot spot was Gila Bend, Ariz., where the high was 107 degrees. In the South, Athens, Ga., suffered through 105-degree heat, the highest in the region.
“In Anderson, Ind., a 14-year-old high school football player, Rick Vida Jr., died Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack during practice in 90-degree heat earlier in the day. Madison County Coroner John Noffze said the investigation was centering on the belief the death was heat-related, although Frankton High School Coach Bob Scharnowski disputed that….
“In Nashville, schools closed after only one full day of the new academic year when officials measured indoor temperatures at 98 degrees in some of the city’s 1,214 non-air conditioned classrooms. Stores reported a run on fans and air conditioners. ‘We’ve sole everything we can lay our hands on,’ said Betty Gibbons, an appliance clerk at a Nashville Sears store. “And we were about the only people in town that had anything left. We just can’t keep anything in stock….” (Assoc. Press. “South swelters in heat wave.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-24-1983, p. 1.)
Aug 25-26: “The heat wave that has claimed 17 lives kept up its assault on much of the Midwest, where farmers pleaded for federal disaster aid to rescue them from the ‘slow torture’ of billion-dollar crop losses.
“In St. Louis, where the mercury was heading toward 100 degrees today, health officials issued a strong air pollution alert, urging elderly people and those suffering from heart and lung diseases to stay indoors and reduce physical exertion.
“The nation’s mid-section continued sweltering Thursday [Aug 25] as temperatures climbed over 100 from Oklahoma to Iowa…But the Deep South got a breather as thundershowers bathed parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, touched off in part by sputtering tropical depression Barry….
“No heat-related deaths were reported Thursday, halting a toll that had reached 17 this week. Since Saturday, the heat has been blamed for five deaths in Alabama, two each in South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky and one each in North Carolina and Illinois.” (AP. “Heat wave continues to bake Midwest.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-26-1983, p. 7.)
Aug 27: “Hot air roasted much of the nation again Saturday [Aug 27], with a forecaster saying the heat wave on the Plains could last two more weeks, as Barry strengthened to regain its title as a tropical storm as it slid toward southern Texas….
“Temperatures were expected to hit 90 as far north as Montana and North Dakota, with cooler readings around the Great Lakes and along the Pacific Coast. In the Northeast, the temperature hit 90 early in the afternoon at Boston and New York City.
“A heat alert remained in effect Saturday for St. Louis, which has had temperatures over 90 degrees for 13 straight days and a total of 55 days this year. On five of those days, including Friday, the mercury hit 100 degrees or more….The heat alert triggered the reopening of 20 cooling centers in the city. The St. Louis area also has been plagued by air pollution for three days. The pollution standards index in East St. Louis, Ill., on Friday was an ‘unhealthy’ 204, officials said. Readings of 0 to 50 are considered good. Readings above 100 mean people with heart or respiratory ailments should remain inside….
“Temperatures in the south-central region are predicted to remain above 90 degrees for at least two more weeks…and the mercury was expected to climb to 100 degrees during the weekend….” (Associated Press. “Heat continues as Barry regains tropical storm status.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 8-28-1983, p. 32.)
Sep 2: “Thunderstorms lingered over the Southeast today and a heat wave continued to bake the Northern Plains states….Temperatures were above 70 degrees this morning in the central third of the nation, with some 80s in the Northern Plains. Readings in the 70s covered the Southeast and the 90s in the desert Southeast. The hottest spot in the nation Thursday was Gila Bend, Ariz., with a 114 reading. Temperatures at 3 a.m. EDT ranged from 46 at Redmond, Ore., to 95 at Phoenix, Ariz.” (AP. “The Weather…Nation: Storms, heat.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 9-2-1983, 12.)
Sep 12-13: “Showers and thunderstorms lingered over the Gulf Coast states and the Tennessee Valley today and stretched up the Atlantic seaboard from Florida to southern New England….
“The latest East Coast heat wave continued unabated from North Carolina to Maryland Monday [Sep 12] with a record 95 at Raleigh, N.C., 98 at Norfolk, Va., and 94 at Baltimore….” (Assoc. Press. “The Weather….Nation: Heat continues.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 9-13-1983, p. 14.)
Sep 14: “Rain and a few thunderstorms lingered today over areas from southern Texas and the Gulf coast states through Georgia and up the Atlantic coast to Maryland. The rains brought some relief from an excessive heat wave in the Southeast during the past week….Temperatures at 3 a.m. EDT ranged from 34 degrees at Hibbing, Minn., to 93 at Phoenix.” (Associated Press. “The Weather….Nation: Rain lingers.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. 9-14-1983, p. 24.)
Sep 18: “It was over the Fourth of July weekend, when 3 million chickens perished in their coops, that the Drought of 1983 started firing up its stove in earnest. After farmers and gardeners in much of the East were stung by an unusually wet and cold spring, the mercury shot as high as 107 as far north as Williston, N.D., on July 16 and 110 in the rural community of Cheraw, S.C., on July 21. It jumped up to 108 on Aug. 17 at Des Moines, Iowa, where it was Senior Citizens Day at the state fair. More than 50 people were treated for heat exhaustion. The 110 degrees in Fayetteville, N.C., on Aug. 21 was an all-time record for the state and the hottest reading in the country on that day.
“When summer comes to an official end at 10:42 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 23, it will go into the record books as one of the hottest and driest ever seen, producing the worst drought in the Midwest and Ohio Valley since the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.
“At least 231 died and losses to farmers are estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at $7 billion, with the corn crop expected to yield the smallest harvest in 13 years, just over half of last year’s record 8.4 billion bushels.
“Thousands of farmers have gone broke, with many losing their farms, and the cost of food at the grocery counter is expected to increase about 6.5 percent next year.
“‘It was something that we wouldn’t expect to happen more than once in a generation,’ said Phil Shideler of the National Weather Service in Topeka, Kan. He said that although there were more days in 1934 and 1936 when temperatures climbed above 100 degrees, this year ‘the combination of heat and dryness probably made it worse.’
“Near Bowman, S.C., Hugh Weathers rigged up fans and water hoses to drip on the tin roof of his barn to try to keep his family’s 850 dairy cows from keeling over. Some died anyway.
“Under the blazing sunshine, farmlands dried out and cracked open in giant checkerboard patterns. ‘It would take three days of rain just to fill up the cracks around here,’ Nolan Duke of the National Weather Service in Kansas City, Mo., said in early September.
“St. Louis, practically in the dead center of the country, was typical. It had one of the wettest springs on record, with 17.16 inches from March through May, as flash floods drove thousands from their homes along the bloated Mississippi and Missouri rivers. But with the change of season, St. Louis was brought to a boil, with 58 days above 90 degrees, including 14 days with temperatures above 100. St. Louis officials opened cooling shelters for the poor and elderly as more than 40 people died from the heat in the area.
“The drought was unmerciful across the vast corn and soybean fields of the Midwest. It shriveled crops from the tomato fields of New Jersey and the tobacco fields of Kentucky to the peanut fields of Georgia and the cotton fields of Alabama.
“Millions of chickens died in Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and across to Arkansas.
“Catfish farmers in Mississippi and elsewhere in Dixie said hundreds of thousands of commercial fish died because the heat cooked the oxygen out of the ponds. Mississippi produces about 100 million pounds of catfish a year.
“Across the Southeast from South Carolina to Alabama, which was also hit by droughts in 1977, 1978 and 1980, farmers were losing their farms. In Georgia, Tal C. DuVall, state director of the Agricultural Extension Service, estimated that 6,000 Georgia farmers were ‘insolvent.’ Many of the hardest hit were among the 16,000 growers of the state’s $370 million peanut crop, which provides 40 percent of the nation’s supply….” (Associated Press/David L. Langford. “Long, hot summer. ’83 drought comes ‘once in generation’.” Yuma Daily Sun, AZ, 9-18-1983, p. 16.)
Arizona
July 28: “A Mexico man trying to cross the desert into the United States without water was found dead south of Tacna [Yuma Co.] Thursday [July 28], the U.S. Border Patrol reported. Two other men, both illegal aliens, were rescued. The dead man was identified as a 57-year-old who had crossed into the United States illegally….He was the second illegal alien found dead this summer by area Border Patrol agents. So far, agents have rescued nine. Last year, agents in the Yuma area recovered three bodies of aliens who died of heat exhaustion. In the summer of 1981 the number was considerably higher, according to agents….” (Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. “One illegal alien dies in desert but 2 saved.” 7-29-1983, p. 1.)
Arkansas
NCDC on Arkansas, June-Aug: “A combined period of dryness, beginning in June, and excessive heat, beginning in July, occurred over the state and lasted through most of August. Precipitation was confined to afternoon thundershowers that were isolated to widely scattered….The northeast corner of the State was the driest section, while reaching temperatures of 100 degrees or higher, sooner than other parts. One hundred degree temperatures spread southward and westward from the northeast corner of Arkansas. The heat contributed to 13 fatalities statewide, according to the Arkansas Health Department…” (NCDC/NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 8, August 1983, p. 21.)
Kentucky
Aug 22, AP on KY: “Louisville, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s summer without relief could last into September, according to a National Weather Service forecaster….It will probably be mid-September before we see the last of the 90-degree range.
“Louisville tied a record established in 1936 when Sunday’s temperature reached 100 degrees. But the high readings for the day were recorded at Bowling Green and Lexington, each at 101. London had a high of 100 on Sunday, Covington was at 99, Paducah 98 and Jackson 96. A day earlier, Bardstown reached 105 degrees, followed by Lexington with 103 and Louisville with 100. Ironically, California’s infamous Death Valley recorded a high on Saturday of only 98…” (Associated Press. “Little relief in sight.” Times Tribune, Corbin, KY, 8-22-1983, p. 1.)
Aug 23, AP on KY: “Louisville, Ky. (AP)…some school closings have been blamed on a heat wave, the second of an uncommonly warm summer, that continues to cook the state of Kentucky. Highs were expected to be well into the 90s again today, with little relief in sight….As readings approached the 100-degree mark on Monday [Aug 22] Monticello decided to operate its city schools from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. to avoid the afternoon heat. Elsewhere in Wayne County, schools were ordered closed until further notice. Estill County schools closed Friday and again Monday because of the weather. And Graves County schools will operate on a half-day schedule, closing at 1 p.m. daily….Officials in Louisville have distributed more than 700 air conditioners or fans to needy families, and 300 more are on the way….” (Associated Press. “More school closings blamed on heat wave.” Times-Tribune, Corbin, KY, 8-23-1983, p. 3.)
Missouri
July 19: “….An elderly woman died of heat stroke, hypothermia and a heart attack in St. Louis, which endured its 10th straight day of weather in the 90s….” (Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “Mercury Soars Across Nation.” 7-19-1983, 1.)
New York
July 18: “UPI…. In New York City, where temperatures reached 94 degrees, an 87-year-old Queens man died when “excessive heat and humidity” aggravated a heart condition. His wife, also 87, was hospitalized suffering severe dehydration….” (Ruston Daily Leader, LA. “Seven die in storms, steamy heat wave.” 7-18-1983, p. 3.)
North Carolina
NCDC on July 12-24 North Carolina Heat Wave: “A large area of stagnant High Pressure located over the south central United Sates resulted in abnormally high temperatures across the State. Temperatures exceeded 90° in most locations for almost two weeks, with many areas reaching 100°, resulting in the establishment of many new record high temperatures. The heat combined with a prolonged dry spell to produce an agricultural drought which inflicted irreparable damage to many of the State’s agricultural commodities….Six deaths were attributed to the Heatwave; four directly from heatstroke and two indirectly from heat related complications.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 29.)
NCDC on Aug in NC: “The heat wave and drought which began in July continued in earnest during August as arid conditions and record high temperatures became commonplace. Most areas across the state received less than half of their normal rainfall amounts, which when combined with the record high temperatures produced disastrous results for the State’s agricultural commodities. Almost every station reached 100° during the five day period between the 19th and 23rd, which was the zenith of the heat wave. Fayetteville recorded an unprecedented 110° on the 21st, breaking the State’s all-time record high temperature by one degree. One death was directly attributed to the heat as a man riding a motorcycle was overcome by heat exhaustion and crashed. Countless cases of heat exhaustion were reported across the State as one of the worst heat waves in recent years continued.” (NCDC. Storm Data, V. 25, N. 8, Aug 1983, p. 34.)
Ohio
Schmidlin and Schmidlin: “A hot summer month with temperatures 4 degrees above normal in Ohio culminated with a hot Sunday on 21 August 1983. Highs reached 100 degrees in western and southern Ohio and peaked at 107 at Meldahl Lock and Dam along the Ohio River west of Chilo. This was the hottest official temperature in Ohio since 107 degrees was recorded at the downtown Cincinnati Weather Bureau office on 12 July 1954. The 107-degree temperature has not been matched in Ohio since 1983. Other hot readings in August 1983 included 105 degrees at Chillicothe and 104 degrees at Hamilton and Cincinnati-Fernbank. Ohio River communities reached 90 degrees on twenty or more days during August 1983, and some nights did not cool below 75 degrees. Heavy use of air conditioning created record electricity demand for Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company. The Cincinnati Post reported that twenty-three ‘cool centers’ were opened in city neighborhoods for residents to escape from the heat. Unhealthy levels of air pollution accompanied the heat in Cincinnati and caused added stress to the elderly and those with respiratory problems.” (Schmidlin and Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, p. 144.)
Oklahoma
July 29, UPI: “Oklahoma imposed a heat emergency Friday [July 29] as temperatures topped 100 there and across the nation’s central band. Two deadly heat waves back to back claimed 180 lives. Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh ordered a statewide emergency and ordered daily inspections for excessive heat at all nursing homes and boarding houses. Nigh said the inspections would continue until the hot spell is over. He urged all mayors and city officials to keep ‘all public facilities’ open seven days a week, with extended hours. He recommended that libraries, senior citizens centers, city halls and community centers be kept open in early evening hours to serve as shelters from the heat….Oklahoma temperatures went over 100 for the eighth day. It was 103 at Altus, 101 at Hobart and 100 at Tulsa….” (UPI/David Smothers. “Oklahoma declares heat emergency.” 7-29-1983.)
South Dakota
July 19, Charles Mix and Jerauld Counties, SD: “Heat killed nearly 100 cattle at Academy (Charles Mix County) and 93 cattle in Wessington Springs (Jerauld County), with scattered small losses nearby. Temperatures were between 100 and 105 degrees with little wind.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 38.)
Tennessee
July 20-24, TN: “Temperatures from the middle 90’s to the lower 100’s created heat stress for Tennesseans. About a dozen people died with heat believed the cause or contributing cause.” (National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 39.)
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Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Storms Welcome.” 7-31-1983, p. 28. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=109324806
Ruston Daily Leader, LA. “Seven die in storms, steamy heat wave.” 7-18-1983, p. 3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=140563421
Schmidlin, Thomas W. and Jeanne Appelhans Schmidlin. Thunder in the Heartland: A Chronicle of Outstanding Weather Events in Ohio. Kent State University Press, 1996, 362 pages. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=QANPLARGXFMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “Heat toll reaches 187.” 7-30-1983, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=39206188
The Oklahoman (Pat Record) Oklahoma City. “City heat chalks up 2 deaths.” 7-28-1983. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: http://newsok.com/article/2033651
The Register, Orange County, CA. “160 deaths across country attributed to high temperatures.” 7-26-1983, E1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=169187640
The Register, Orange County, CA. “Nation’s searing heat wave kills 24…” 7-21-1983, A24. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=166720326
Times-News, Twin Falls, ID. “Eastern half of nation suffers with heat wave.” 7-17-1983, A5. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=170106223
United Press International. “Autopsy shows Pratt was hit by heat stroke.” Salina Journal, KS. 8-23-1983, p. 15. Accessed 2-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/salina/salina-journal/1983/08-23/page-15?tag
United Press International (Tim Coder). “Death toll tops 190 as heat wave continues.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-3-1983, p. 12. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-03/page-114?tag
United Press International. “Heat wave death toll approaches 200.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-1-1983, p. 16. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-01/page-64?tag
United Press International. “Heat wave leaves Midwest.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-26-1983, p. 10. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/07-26/page-54?tag
United Press International. “Heat wave moves eastward.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-22-1983, p. 14. Accessed 2-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-22/page-28?tag
United Press International. “Heat wave moves northward.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-10-1983, p. 26. Accessed 2-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-10/page-190?tag
United Press International (David Smothers). “Oklahoma declares heat emergency.” 7-29-1983. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/07/29/Oklakoma-declares-heat-emergency/6499082822001/
United Press International. “Remnants of heat wave drape much of nation.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-8-1983, p. 5. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/salina/salina-journal/1983/08-08/page-5?tag
United Press International. “Sizzling heat settles on southern Plains.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-2-1983, p. 10. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-02/page-10?tag
United Press International. “South bears burden of summer’s fire.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-24-1983, p. 18. Accessed 2-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/salina/salina-journal/1983/08-24/page-9?tag
United Press International. “Surf pounds Pacific beaches.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-9-1983, p. 12. Accessed 2-18-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/08-09/page-108?tag
United Press International (Brenda W. Rotzoll). “Three-digit weather scorches Midwest.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-28-2983, p. 8. Accessed 2-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/us/kansas/hutchinson/hutchinson-news/1983/07-28/page-45?tag
Yuma Daily Sun, AZ. “One illegal alien dies in desert but 2 saved.” 7-29-1983, p. 1. Accessed 6-8-2019 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/yuma-sun-jul-29-1983-p-1/
[1] Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard in 2017 and 2019 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com
[2] This is for July-Aug — have found no reports of deaths in June or Sep. Have found reports of lingering heat in Sep.
[3] “…the sweltering summer of 1995 would rank with killer heat in 1983 and 1988, which caused 556 and 354 deaths, respectively. It could still fall far short of the 1,700 heat victims in 1980.”
[4] “At least 196 deaths nationwide since early July have been blamed on the scorching summer heat…”
[5] “A lingering series of heat waves…has claimed at least 183 lives in 15 states since early July, officials said.”
[6] UPI. “Autopsy shows Pratt was hit by heat stroke.” Salina Journal, KS. 8-23-1983, p. 15. Identified victim as fullback Greg Pratt. Notes: “Lee County Coroner Jon Williams said Monday [Aug 21] the autopsy by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences showed the cardiac arrest was caused by heat stroke…`I am ruling the cause of death was found to be a heat stroke.”
[7] Start with CDC WONDER at 16 deaths, and add four deaths noted by NCDC from counties not noted by CDC.
[8] “….The heat contributed to 13 fatalities statewide, according to the Arkansas Health Department.”
[9] United Press International. “Surf pounds Pacific beaches.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-9-1983, p. 12. Writes: “Police attributed his death to room temperatures around 100 degrees.”
[10] Figure 3, “Annual Temperature Deaths, Florida, 1979-1999.” is a chart which shows heat deaths in one color and cold deaths in another on the same horizontal bar for each year. The fatality range shown on the left of the chart is in increments of five, going up to thirty. The bars for each year are shown diagonally and do not show any numbers. This does not make them readily readable. Thus one has to measure with a ruler the bar showing the lowest combined deaths (1979), which appears to show one cold death and one heat death. With the unit of measurement of one death then measured against the heat portion of all the other bars, one can get an approximation of the heat deaths for each year. I say “approximate” in that by this method we counted 133 heat deaths over the 21-year period included in the graph, whereas the text of the article notes that there were 125. Repetitious measurement attempts gave us the same result. The article notes that the data came from death certificates collected by the Public Health Statistics Section, Office of Vital Statistics, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
[11] “In Georgia, 84 cases of HRI [heat-related illness] and 35 HRDs [heat-related deaths] were reported…” [Presumably over same period of time discussed for St. Louis in the same article — July 11-August 15.] “Patients over 60 years of age were the most severely affected, accounting for 20 (57.0%) of the deaths and 147 (26.0%) of the HRIs throughout the state….Over half of the Georgia HRDs occurred between July 19 and July 28, when Atlanta reported mean daily temperatures between 34.4 C and 37.2 C (94.0 F and 99.0 F), an average of 6 F above normal for that time period.”
[12] One might wonder at the difference between the two CDC figures of 20 Heat deaths and 35 Heat-Related deaths. The probable reason is that the CDC WONDER number (20) reflects death certificates accessible to the CDC on which the ICD code for excessive natural heat (hyperthermia) is noted as the primary cause of death. Heat-related death numbers can reflect deaths wherein determinations are made that heat was a contributing factor.
[13] AP. “Heat wave death toll hits 110.” Roswell Daily Record, NM, 7-24-1983, p. 1. Notes temperature reached 100° and cites Deputy Health Commissioner that “it was ‘a reasonable assumption’ that the deaths were heat-related.”
[14] UPI. “South bears burden of summer’s fire.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-24-1983, p. 18.
[15] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 19. Probably same death noted in press for Postville on July 23.
[16] National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 19.
[17] National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1983, p. 19.
[18] Lawrence Journal-World, KS. “Weather turns sticky while city heats up.” 7-27-1983, p. 3. Victim identified as Theodore C. Elliott.
[19] Hutchinson News, KS. “Regional weather conditions. Kansas.” 7-26-1983, p. 10.
[20] CDC WONDER notes 19 Jefferson County deaths. We note two press reports on July 24 that there had been 26-27 deaths in Louisville (in Jefferson County), plus a note on a probable heat death in Louisville on Aug 21. We also note the National Climatic Data Center/NOAA, which notes 34 deaths in Louisville, Jefferson County, in July alone.
[21] Starting July 10 “A heat wave swept across the state of Kentucky during the final two-thirds of July. The state was declared in a state of emergency on July 22, 1983 by the acting Governor…when the excessive heat started taking lives. Forty-two people died throughout Kentucky as a result of the hear. 34 of those 42 deaths were in Louisville (Jefferson County)….The heat wave continued on into August, 1983.”
[22] “Twenty-seven deaths from the heat had been reported in Louisville as of Saturday [July 23” Louisville is the Jefferson County seat.
[23] AP. “More school closings blamed on heat wave.” Times-Tribune, Corbin, KY, 8-23-1983, p. 3. Cites Jefferson Co. coroner that windows had been left covered with plastic since the winter, and heat probably was a factor.
[24] We use CDC tally of 67 for all but Scott County, where they have one female death (aged 55-64), and the press notes (1) death of a 65-year-old male in the Aug 2-3 time frame, citing “Scott County officials” to effect “death was caused by the heat,” and (2) death of an 84-year-old woman on July 28 in Sikeston, in Scott County, citing Coroner.
[25] United Press International. “Heat wave moves northward.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-10-1983, p. 26.
[26] AP/Kim Mills. “Heat strikes home in the heartland as deaths mount.” Lawrence Daily Journal World, KS. 7-29-1983. Article identified the victim as Effie Morrow Beaird, and notes “She had apparently been working in her garden just before she was felled by the heat…”
[27] UPI (Tim Coder). “Death toll tops 190 as heat wave continues.” Hutchinson News, KS. 8-3-1983, p. 12.
[28] New York Times. “St. Louis Bears Brunt of Heat Wave as U.S. Toll Rises.” 7-24-1983.
[29] UPI. “South bears burden of summer’s fire.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-24-1983, p. 18.
[30] UPI. “South bears burden of summer’s fire.” Salina Journal, KS, 8-24-1983, p. 18.
[31] Out of “348 cases of heat-related illness… Of those who died, 23 (65.7%) were elderly (aged 60 years and over), 27 (77.2%) were female, and 23 (65.0%) were black.” (pp. 325-326)
[32] St. Louis area, however, includes East St. Louis, IL, where article notes an male, 81, died “inside his locked, stifling apartment…housing project.”
[33] “…a man riding a motorcycle was overcome by heat exhaustion and crashed.”
[34] UPI (Brenda W. Rotzoll). “Three-digit weather scorches Midwest.” Hutchinson News, KS. 7-28-2983, p. 8.
[35] The Oklahoman (Pat Record). “City heat chalks up 2 deaths.” 7-28-1983. Ruled as heat-related natural causes death by Medical Examiner’s Office.
[36] The Oklahoman (Pat Record). “City heat chalks up 2 deaths.” 7-28-1983. Writes: “Medical examiners said Mahan’s body temperature after death was still 107.”
[37] “Unusually hot dry weather set high records at many locations during the month, [and] caused heavy losses to agriculture. Eleven deaths were heat related. Undetermined number of people injured.”
[38] We start with CDC WONDER base of 25. Add NCDC/NOAA noted deaths in Bradley (1), Obion (1), and Robertson (2) counties in July.
[39] Notes “…daily temperatures soared to over 100 degrees in many places…Many school systems across the state either let schools out early in the day or delayed the opening of schools…”
[40] UPI. “Sizzling heat settles on southern Plains.” Hutchinson News, KS, 8-2-1983, p.10. Notes she was 189th victim.