DISASTERS2023: Record Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

2023 still has three-and-a-half months to go, but it has already broken the record for $1-billion climate-driven disasters, that is, disasters which have caused damage of at least $1 billion.

So far this year, the United States has experienced 23 such disasters. The previous record – 22 $1-billion climate disasters – was in 2020.

Between January 1980 and September 2023, the United States has sustained 371 weather and climate disasters in which overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including CPI adjustment to 2023).

The total cost of these 371 events exceeds $2.615 trillions.

2023 in Progress
In 2023 (as of 11 September), there have been 23 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect United States. These events included 2 flooding events, 18 severe storm events, 1 tropical cyclone event, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 253 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. The 1980–2022 annual average is 8.1 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2018–2022) is 18.0 events (CPI-adjusted).

Potential Billion-Dollar Events
The 23 disasters mentioned above do not include events in which damage costs potentially exceed the $1 billion-dollar threshold, but for which the calculations are not yet finalized and total costs have not been determined (as of 11 September 2023).Amon these events:

· Tropical Storm Hilary (August 2023): Tropical Storm Hilary caused a first-ever tropical storm watch to be issued for southern California, as it brought record-breaking rainfall and flooding across parts of the Southwest.

· Southern and Midwest Drought (Spring-Fall 2023): Drought conditions were present across numerous Midwestern states (KS, MO, NE, IL, IN, IA, WI, LA and TX). The agriculture sector has been impacted across the affected states including damage to field crops from lack of rainfall. Ranchers have also been forced to sell-off livestock early in some regions due to high feeding costs.

Methodology and Data Sources
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) notes that the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the U.S. Scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events in their historical perspective. As part of its responsibility of monitoring and assessing the climate, NCEI tracks and evaluates climate events in the U.S. and globally that have great economic and societal impacts.

NCEI is frequently called upon to provide summaries of global and U.S. temperature and precipitation trends, extremes, and comparisons in their historical