A deadly outbreak of tornadoes last month caused $4.7 billion in damage across the southern, southeastern and central United States, making it one of the costliest weather events of the year so far, said Monday the 'National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 11 weather and climate disasters had been confirmed so far this year with losses exceeding $1 billion, with a total price tag of more than $25 billion. There were more than 165 tornadoes during the May 6-9 outbreak, which affected Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, officials said.
A southerly — a widespread, long-lasting wind storm associated with showers or fast-moving thunderstorms — also caused more than $1 billion in damage in May, according to government data. The May 16-17 storm that stretched from Texas to Florida killed at least eight people and caused $1.2 billion in damage. During the storm, winds in excess of 110 mph tore through parts of central and eastern Texas. NOAA described May as a “turbulent month.”
NOAA NCEI
The list of harmful weather events in May it may grow with additional events during NOAA's update in early June, an agency spokesman said. The cutoff date for this analysis was mid-May, and there were several costly hail events that occurred during the second half of May that are still being reviewed.
Other notable storms this year include a January winter storm in the Northwest and several tornado outbreaks in April. In March, damaging hail, tornadoes and high winds cost $5.9 billion, adjusted for inflation. Officials said a preliminary count showed 450 tornadoes in the United States in March and April combined. The deadliest tornado of the year so far arrived Greenfield, Iowaon May 21, causing widespread destruction and killing five people.
The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Seasonwhich is expected to be above normal, began in early June and will last until November 30. Federal forecasters predict 17 to 25 named storms, 8 to 13 hurricanes, and 4 to 7 major Category 3 or higher hurricanes.
For all U.S. hurricanes, 2005's Hurricane Katrina is the costliest on record, incurring $200 billion in damage. Harvey in 2017, Ian in 2022, Maria in 2017, and Sandy in 2012 cost $158.8 billion, $118.5 billion, $114.3 billion, and $88.5 billion, adjusted for inflation, respectively.
NOAA
In May, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials joined NOAA officials in announcing hurricane forecasts for the season. At the time, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell noted that severe weather “was becoming part of our new normal,” while FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik A. Hooks. said severe weather events “continue to increase in frequency and duration.”
“In recent years, there were only 18 days on average between billion-dollar disasters, compared to 82 days in the 1980s,” said Adam Smith, a NOAA spokesman. “These shorter time intervals between disasters often mean less time and resources available to respond, recover, and prepare for future events. This increased frequency of events produces cascading impacts that are particularly difficult for socioeconomic populations vulnerable”.
Last year, there were 28 weather events with losses exceeding $1 billion each, surpassing the previous record of 22 in 2020. Nearly 500 people died in these storms. Criswell warned in August 2023 that the the organization's disaster fund could be depleted and delay federal response to natural disasters.
FEMA's May disaster relief fund report, which covers 2024 at the end of April, shows the fund could be more than $1.3 billion in the red in August..
“FEMA continues to work with the Administration and Congress to ensure that sufficient funding is available,” a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement. “Without additional funding, FEMA will take steps before funding is exhausted to ensure that resources are available to support ongoing life-saving and life-sustaining activities and to provide a reserve for initial response and recovery operations to to a new catastrophic event.”
In 2022there were 18 extreme weather events that caused at least $1 billion in damage each, totaling more than $165 billion.
