Did We See More Weather-Climate Disasters during 2023?

Check out our weather and climate year in review

December 15, 2023

It is that time of year to review what happened during 2023. For this specific review, let’s look at weather-related disasters. 

Many times, organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classify major disasters as ones that exceed $1 billion in damages and costs (including consumer price index adjustments for 2023). To put this year into comparison, let’s look at some data from previous years. 

• Last year was our fifth-worst year in terms of weather and climate-related disasters with 18 dating back to 1980. 
• Looking at the last five years, we averaged 18 weather and climate-related disasters.
• From 1980 to the present, we averaged 8.5 weather and climate-related disasters per year.

As of early this month, there have been 25 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion in the United States. This number is likely to be higher due to the rain/snowstorms that affected much of the country during the weekend of December 9–10 because of the atmospheric river to our west, which then tracked east and caused multiple tornadoes in the southeastern part of the country and flooding rains and snow in the northeast. A few other disasters are under review as well to potentially be added to the list. 

Once the year officially ends, we will by far surpass the previous record set during 2020 with 22 confirmed weather/climate disaster events. In fact, we surpassed the record as of August. In terms of what type of weather accounted for most of the disasters, it was severe weather such as thunderstorms producing tornadoes. The bulk of these occurred in the spring and summer months in the central and southern parts of the country. 

Let’s take a moment to highlight some of the disasters we witnessed this year:

• Lahaina Firestorm ($5.5 billion):  Combined with strong winds and drought conditions, wildfires devastated the town of Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii on August 8. At least 115 were confirmed killed in the nation's deadliest wildfire in over 100 years. The fire consumed thousands of homes, businesses, and vehicles.
• South, East Severe Weather Outbreak ($6.1 billion):  A rash of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through parts of the southern plains, the southeast, and Ohio valley during March. At least 33 tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service, including EF2 tornadoes near Kirby, Arkansas, and Fremont, Kentucky. 
• Northeast Cold Wave ($1.8 billion):  A blast of bitterly cold air swept through the northeast during early February. High winds downed trees and power lines, particularly in New England. In parts of northern Maine, water in trees froze and expanded, causing them to split. This cold outbreak also set a wind chill record of minus 108 degrees at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire.
• July Northeast Flood ($2.1 billion):  Devastating flash flooding swamped parts of the Northeast, specifically Vermont and parts of New York state into northeast Pennsylvania and northwest Connecticut. Thousands of homes and businesses were damaged when flooding swamped downtown Montpelier, Vermont, and other towns in the state. Almost 7 inches of rain in three hours trapped vehicles and washed out roads around the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
• South, East Severe Weather Outbreak II ($2.7 billion):  Tornadoes tore across parts of the southeast on March 24–26, including Rolling Fork, Silver City, Tchula, Winona, and Amory, Mississippi, claiming 21 lives in Mississippi and another in Alabama. An EF3 tornado ripped through parts of Troup County, Georgia. Damaging winds also swept through parts of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Pennsylvania was named and involved in four out of the 25 disasters identified in the NOAA report. This is not to say we didn’t have our fair share of other weather and climate-related disasters or occurrences that did not meet the billion-dollar threshold. For example:

• We have seen 23 confirmed tornadoes with most occurring in the southeast and northeast parts of the state. 
• There were multiple severe storms with straight-line winds throughout the state during mid-July.
• We faced hazardous air quality issues from the Canadian wildfire smoke, which caused visibility to decrease tremendously and respiratory issues to arise quickly. It was reported that for several days parts of Pennsylvania were listed on worldwide reports of the worst air quality. 

It is yet to be known what we as a state and the remainder of the country will face for 2024 in terms of weather/climate disasters. If trends continue and 2023 ends with 25 disasters causing more than $1 billion in damage, we will be at a 3-year average (2021–2023) of 21 weather/climate disasters. 

This is much different than the 1980s and the 1990s, which saw an average of 3.3 per year and 5.7 per year respectively. All we can do is continue to be situationally aware of the weather and climate around us and continue to be prepared for what’s to come during 2024.
 

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Sources:

NOAA data report: Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (noaa.gov)

2023 disasters: 2023 A Record Number Of US Billion-Dollar Disasters | Weather.com