U.S. saw 14 $1B natural disasters in 2019, now the second wettest year on record
The costliest U.S. weather activity in 2019 made up nearly half of the year's total losses.
Following the trends of recent years, the U.S. experienced more record-breaking weather activity in 2019, which is now the second wettest year on record, according to new data and analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA recently released its complete 2019 weather and climate totals for the year and recapped U.S. climate and extreme weather activity in 2019. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information., precipitation across the contiguous U.S. totaled 34.78 inches in 2019 (4.48 inches above the long-term average), making 2019 the second-wettest year on record after 1973.
In 2019, the U.S. experienced a total of 14 weather and climate disasters that resulted in losses exceeding $1 billion, according to NOAA. These 14 billion-dollar weather events resulted in total losses of approximately $45 billion, and include:
- 1 wildfire event (affecting multiple areas in Alaska and California);
- 2 tropical cyclones (Dorian and Imelda);
- 3 inland floods (affecting the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers); and
- 8 severe storms.
The costliest U.S. weather event in 2019 also had the most widespread impact. Throughout the first half of the year, persistent, devastating flooding touched 15 states across the Midwest. Just the combined cost of the Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi River basin flooding alone totaled $20 billion — nearly half of 2019′s U.S. loss total.
2019 weather by the numbers
The average temperature measured across the contiguous U.S. in 2019 was 52.7 degrees Fahrenheit — 0.7 of a degree above the 20th-century average — placing 2019 in the warmest third of the 125-year period. Alaska, Georgia and North Carolina each experienced their hottest year on record. Notably, NOAA reports Alaska’s average yearly temperature for 2019 is 6.2 degrees warmer than the long-term average.
Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin each had their wettest year ever recorded.
From a historical perspective, the billion-dollar loss events of 2019 mimic a trend of increasingly frequent and more costly inland flood events. NOAA says even after adjusting for inflation, the U.S. experienced more than double the number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in the 2010s than the 2000s, with totals of 119 to 59, respectively.
See also: