This past year featured many significant weather events that won’t be forgotten by those who had to live through them. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) estimates that 24 separate weather events this year caused at least a billion dollars in damage.
What You Need To Know
- 24 separate weather events caused at least one billion dollars in damage this past year
- Most of these events occurred in the Southern Plains, Gulf Coast states or the Midwest
- The costliest and deadliest weather events were hurricanes Helene and Milton
- The number of billion-dollar weather disasters this year is above the 5-year average
Included in this number were 17 severe weather outbreaks, four tropical cyclone events, one wildfire and two winter storms.
Nationwide winter storm kicked off 2024
From the northwest to the south and then up the east coast, a major winter storm affected much of the country at the start of the year. Snow, sleet, ice and, at times, hurricane-force winds hit areas from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies. The heavy snow also triggered an avalanche warning in Colorado and avalanche warnings in Utah.
The storm then impacted areas from Texas to Tennessee with snow and rain mixed as far south as Corpus Christi, lake-effect snow in Fort Worth and half a foot of snow in Nashville.
Anna Coleman sleds with her daughter C.J. Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. A snowstorm blanketed the area with up to eight inches of snow and frigid temperatures. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
The storm strengthened over the northeast, blanketing Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York City with their first snowfall of an inch or more in 700 days.
Numerous severe weather outbreaks led to record tornado counts
This past year featured one of the highest tornado counts in recent memory, as six major tornado outbreaks struck the country. As of the start of November, the preliminary tornado count for 2024 is over 1,700, and if that number is verified, it would be the most on record up to that point of the year.
One state hit hardest by the uptick in tornadoes is Ohio. 2024 was a record year with at least 73 confirmed tornadoes. This is, unfortunately, a trend as 2023 tallied the third-most confirmed tornadoes with 60.
A reported tornado near Melrose, Ohio, on May 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Isaac Polanski Photography)
Almost a dozen more severe weather outbreaks ranging from late winter to early summer brought damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall.
A record-breaking hailstone was recovered in the panhandle of Texas in early June that measured over 7 inches long. The pineapple-sized hailstone is most likely the largest in Texas history!
2024 hurricane season rewrote the record books
Before the start of the 2024 hurricane season, forecasters were calling for one of the busiest on record, calling for up to 24 named storms and possibly as many as seven major hurricanes. While those extremes weren’t realized, it was still an above-average season, with 18 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes.
Hurricane Beryl was an omen of things to come as it became the earliest-forming category five on record and left widespread damage from the Caribbean into the southern and central U.S.
A vehicle is stranded in high waters on a flooded highway in Houston, on Monday, July 8, 2024, after Beryl came ashore in Texas as a hurricane and dumped heavy rains along the coast. (AP Photo/Juan A. Lozano)
After a relative lull in activity from mid-July to late September, the hurricane season turned devastating as Hurricane Helene formed in the Caribbean, moved through the Gulf of Mexico as a category four, and left its mark on the southeast from Florida to the Carolinas. It was the strongest storm to make landfall in the Big Bend of Florida and the deadliest storm to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005.
Helene brought record-breaking storm-surge flooding to Tampa Bay, triggered tornado outbreaks and caused catastrophic inland flooding in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and western Virginia. As of publication, more than 200 people died because of Helene with almost 90 billion dollars in damage.
Men walk down a street flooded by Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood Sept. 27, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Less than two weeks after Helene, Hurricane Milton struck the west coast of Florida, bringing deadly flooding and one of the worst tornado outbreaks in Florida’s history. At its peak, Milton was the second-strongest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, behind Rita in 2005, with winds of 180 mph. At least 30 people died because of Milton, and over 85 billion dollars in damage has been attributed to the storm.
Glenn Frazier paddles around his Sumter County neighborhood in his kayak after Hurricane Milton brought intense flood waters to the area. (Spectrum News/Randy Rauch)
How this year stacks up
(Spectrum News Photo)
As the year came to a close, a string of powerful winter storms led to feet of lake-effect snow along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in northern New York from late November to early December. Also, western wildfires raged in Southern California that threatened homes and businesses.
As for the 24 separate billion-dollar weather disasters this year, that number is just above the five-year average, but almost triple the average since this data was collected by the National Centers for Environmental Information in 1980.
The NCEI says the two overarching reasons for the increase in billion-dollar disasters are the increased population in vulnerable areas like the coasts, river floodplains, or the urban-wildland interface, and the ever-changing climate.
Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.
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