The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has confirmed 24 major weather and climate disasters in 2024. Major disasters are defined as those that create at least $1 billion dollars in damages (though many of these disasters generate significantly more damages than that).
Weather disasters in 2024 included seventeen severe storm events, four hurricanes, one wildfire outbreak, and two winter storms. They caused a tragic 418 deaths across the country.
A nationwide problem
While some regions experienced particularly disastrous years, weather disasters wreaked havoc across the nation in 2024.
There were six major tornado outbreaks over the summer and fall, primarily concentrated in the Midwest. Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri each experienced over 100 tornados in 2024. Across the country, there were over 1700 tornadoes total, more than any other year except 2011. Texas saw three severe weather events, a hail storm, and a hurricane in 2024. New Mexico experienced a severe wildfire event in July.
The Central, Southern, and Northeastern winter storm and cold wave caused power outages and freezing all across the eastern United States last January. On almost the same dates, the Pacific Northwest experienced a separate, but similarly damaging winter storm event.
The southeast dealt with the worst damage, facing three major tropical storms including hurricanes Helene and Milton, which occurred only two weeks apart. Hurricane Helene was the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005, directly causing over 150 fatalities.
Weather disasters cost us billions
The 2023 National Climate Assessment estimates the United States spends $150 billion each year on climate-related disaster relief. Some estimate that recovery from Hurricane Helene alone could cost up to $250 billion.
In December, disaster relief funds became a linch-pin in debates around the federal budget, due to significant recent disasters and the urgency of delivering much-needed assistance. On December 21st, Congress passed a bipartisan funding extension in order to prevent a government shutdown and ensure that $110 billion in short and long-term disaster relief was disbursed on time.
Climate change has made disasters more common
The United States has experienced 400 “billion-dollar” weather events total since 1980, and they are becoming more and more frequent as a result of climate change. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) newest annual report finds that even small increases in global warming can have a significant impact on extreme temperatures and weather events. Hurricanes, for instance, thrive in warmer waters. With ocean temperatures rising due to global warming, hurricanes pick up more energy, leading to higher wind speeds and more damage.
Just by the numbers, the change over time is dramatic. In the 1980s, the U.S. averaged just 3.3 disaster events per year. That average grew to 5.7 per year in the 1990s, 6.7 per year in the 2000s, and 13.1 per year in the 2010s. Over the past four years (2020-2024) we have averaged a whopping 22.5 climate and weather disasters each year in the United States.
With the United Nations now warning that the world is on track to hit 3.1 degrees celsius of warming, it is more critical than ever that the U.S. leads the globe on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, to avoid the most catastrophic potential impacts of climate change.
And with 20+ major disasters per year as the new normal, adaptation strategies like wetland restoration that build natural resilience to weather extremes will become crucial in order to ensure we are prepared for what will come in 2025 and beyond.
