The U.S. Climate Data Center (NCDC), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has just issued a report saying that 2012 saw eleven weather and climate disaster events in the United States — each with losses exceeding $1 billion in damages. With a total of more than $110 billion in damages throughout the year, 2012 is the second costliest year since 1980, which incurred $160 billion in damages due in part to four devastating land-falling hurricanes.