Extreme weather events have "cost the global economy more than $2 trillion over the past decade," said Axios, "and the U.S. was the worst-affected nation." The bad news is that these events are only becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. "Human actions since the Industrial Revolution, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have caused greenhouse gases to rapidly rise in the atmosphere," said NASA. This has led to Earth's atmosphere and oceans warming and "affect[ing] the water cycle, shift[ing] weather patterns and melt[ing] land ice," all of which worsen bad weather. Below is a chronological look at the extreme weather events that have unfolded in the last year.
December 2023
The year closed out with a series of storms. The east coast of the U.S. saw heavy rainfall resulting in flooding and power outages. In the Northeast, 400,000 people lost power. Florida and South Carolina also endured heavy rains. "It's not just the areas that we normally see flooding, that are flood-prone," a spokesperson for Georgetown County, South Carolina Jackie Broach, said to The Associated Press. "It's areas that we're not really expecting to have flooding issues."
In China, there was a rare case of snowfall. Frigid weather hit historic lows in the north of the country.
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January 2024
The year had a stormy start with over 40 states under blizzard, wind, snow or flood alerts. Many U.S. locations experienced snow and power outages. In addition, “extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather swept southward into much of the U.S. in mid-January 2024, breaking daily low-temperature records from Montana to Texas,” Mathew Barlow, a professor of climate science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, said in a piece for The Conversation.
Despite these cold bouts, January was the eighth consecutive month with record-high monthly temperatures, Time said. It was also the warmest January ever on record. Climate change can cause massive temperature fluctuations, bringing a polar vortex on one day and unseasonable warmth on another.
February 2024
This month saw a downpour of rain across California thanks to a “seemingly relentless barrage of atmospheric rivers,” said The Washington Post. The resulting rainfall brought extensive flooding. Northern California saw heavy snowfall as well. “It is the wettest month in 26 years,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.
Further south, Chile saw extensive wildfires which killed over 123 people, said Reuters. This makes the fires the country's worst national disaster since the 2010 earthquake. Wildfires are only expected to become more frequent as climate change worsens.
March 2024
March brought forth an earlier spring in many places. “The nation’s snow cover is at its lowest extent on record for March 1,” said The Washington Post. In addition, pollen levels began their uptick earlier than usual as some locations saw early blooms. “It’s early March and we are already seeing trees bloom," said WKYT.
Much of Texas to the U.S. midwest saw severe weather, including hail, thunderstorms and tornado warnings. “Any severe thunderstorm will carry a threat of large hail, damaging wind gusts over 60 mph and possible tornadoes,” said FOX Weather. Warmer temperatures increase the risk of thunderstorms and warmer spring weather is rapidly overtaking the already mild winter temperatures.
April 2024
April brought earthquakes, tornadoes and storms. The American Northeast saw heavy rain and around two feet of snowfall along with strong winds of over 50 mph. The storm disrupted travel by causing massive airline delays and contributed to widespread power outages. "This was pretty much a classic nor'easter," Stephen Baron, a meteorologist for the weather service in Gray, Maine, said to The Associated Press. "This is definitely a high-end storm for April. It's not crazy for us to get snow in April, but not usually getting double-digit amounts."
The Northeast also experienced an unprecedented 4.8-magnitude earthquake originating in New Jersey. The quake was the "third largest earthquake recorded in the area in the last five decades and the strongest in New Jersey in more than 240 years," said CNN. Across the globe, Taiwan experienced a deadly 7.4-magnitude earthquake, which injured hundreds of people. It was the country's strongest quake in 25 years.
Back in the U.S., deadly tornados tore through the middle of the country killing at least five people. Since the start of the weather event, "there have been more than 100 confirmed tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-4," said FOX Weather.
May 2024
This month was fraught with extreme heat. Across the planet, various regions experienced heat waves. Western India had a grueling one with temperatures between three and six degrees Celsius above average. "Human-caused climate change has made this intense heat much more likely," said Dr. Andrew Pershing, VP for Science at Climate Central. "The high overnight temperatures make this event particularly alarming."
Mexico experienced a deadly heat dome that killed hundreds of animals in an animal park. "We've never seen a situation like what's happening right now," Ena Buenfil, the director of the Selva Teenek eco-park, said to The Associated Press, "There is not going to be much we can do for the animals," if the heat continues to peak.
The U.S. also saw extreme heat, with Texas experiencing several thunderstorms causing power outages and wind damages. "A complex of storms with winds up to 100 mph and a tornado left a trail of destruction across the Houston area that damaged multiple skyscrapers, caused a sewage spill and triggered power outages that could stretch on for weeks amid soaring temperatures," said CNN.
June 2024
June saw a dichotomy of weather including out-of-season snow and extreme heat. Much of the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast U.S. experienced a heat dome, bringing temperatures to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. "To make matters worse, humidity will work in tandem with extreme heat to send the heat index — how heat feels to the human body — to dangerous triple digits in parts of the East," said CNN.
On the flip side, the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. was under a winter storm advisory with an expected six inches of snow and hypothermia risk. "While snow does fall at high elevations in early June, late June snowfalls are less common," said AccuWeather.
Maryland also experienced a historic tornado outbreak that caused injuries and property damage. "The five tornadoes confirmed in Maryland so far places the June 5 outbreak among the top 15 on record in a single day," said The Washington Post.
July 2024
July 2024 was "Earth's warmest July on record, extending the streak of record-high monthly global temperatures to 14 successive months," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "Temperatures were above average across much of the global land surface except for Alaska, southern South America, eastern Russia, Australia and western Antarctica."
Hurricane Beryl hit the Caribbean and the Southern U.S., becoming the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. "This was the first time a storm reached Category 5 strength this early in the season (which begins June 1) and also the second time ever on record for a Category 5 storm to develop in July," said Space.com. Deaths from the storm were up to 40 in the Houston area and could be up to 70 in the entire storm region.
August 2024
Extreme heat carried over into August, which became the warmest August on record. The month also had some high levels of rainfall and thunderstorms. Much of the Northeast saw flash flooding in the middle of the month. The "worst of the flooding occurred in southwestern Connecticut and Long Island, New York, where more than 10 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period," said Climate.gov.
Hurricane Debby hit Florida as a Category 1 storm. Though there were no deaths, "Debby's torrential rainfall triggered widespread flash floods and river flooding across the southeastern U.S., especially from Florida to the Carolinas," said NOAA.
September 2024
September saw large temperature fluctuations. California experienced a heat wave exacerbating wildfires across the state. Later in the month temperatures dropped significantly, even bringing snow to some regions. "This is a very small blip in the overall fire season," Robert Foxworthy, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said to the Los Angeles Times. "We have ups and downs with weather as patterns shift, so the fact that we have some cool weather now … won't necessarily change the total outcome of the fire season."
Hurricane Helene hit the southern U.S. at the end of September and became the "third-deadliest hurricane of the modern era (behind Maria and Katrina) with a death toll of over 200," said Climate.gov. The region saw billions of dollars in damage caused by "historic flooding and devastation," said the National Weather Service.
October 2024
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton barreled the same region. The storm's "sustained wind speeds peaked at 180 miles per hour" and then dropped to "around 120 mph," said CNN. "Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year — which has only happened during five other hurricane seasons since 1871."
While the storm brought rainfall, much of the rest of the U.S. experienced drought conditions. By the end of October, "87.16% of the contiguous U.S. was experiencing abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions, a record in the program's 25-year history," said the National Centers for Environmental Information. In addition, the northeastern part of the country saw unusually warm temperatures.
November 2024
While much of the U.S. was in drought, other parts of the world saw extreme precipitation in November. Valencia, Spain experienced torrential downpours with heavy flash floods, which resulted in at least 222 people dead. "The flooding was no doubt the kind of extraordinary weather event that climate change is making both less extraordinary and more unpredictable," said The New York Times.
South Korea had its "heaviest snowfall in Seoul during November on record," said Reuters, resulting in "bad weather snarling traffic, knocking out power and grounding hundreds of flights." In a similar vein, the U.S. Northeast experienced severe snows around Thanksgiving weekend.
December 2024
The first few days of December were marked with rain and snow. A snow storm "led to an emergency declaration in parts of New York and a disaster declaration in Pennsylvania, with officials warning of dangerous conditions for Thanksgiving travelers returning home," said CBS News.
