An unprecedented number of multi-billion-dollar disasters – 28 in total – will hit the United States in 2023, with a remarkably warm December concluding the year with record-high temperatures.
“For millions of Americans affected by a seemingly endless onslaught of weather and climate disasters, 2023 will set a new record for many extreme events,” said Sarah Kapnick, chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Record warm temperatures in the US in December, a record number of billion-dollar disasters in 2023, and perhaps the warmest year on record for the planet, are just the latest examples of the extreme events we are facing now and that will continue.” “It's getting worse because of the climate. It's changing.”
Here is a summary of climate and severe weather events across the United States in 2023:
Climate in numbers
2023
The average annual temperature across the contiguous United States was 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit — 2.4 degrees above the 20th century average — ranking as the fifth warmest year in the country in the climate record set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Over 129 years.
The year ended on a warm note as well. December 2023 ranked as the warmest December in the country with the average temperature reaching 39.97 degrees Fahrenheit, 7.29 degrees above normal, surpassing the previous record-setting warmest December 2021.
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Texas all had their warmest year on record, while Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Vermont and Virginia all had their second warmest year on record. An additional 24 states experienced the 10 hottest years on record.
Total annual precipitation across the contiguous United States was 29.46 inches (0.48 inches below average), placing 2023 in the driest third on climate record. Louisiana had the eighth driest year on record, while Maine ranked fifth wettest, and Vermont and Connecticut both ranked sixth wettest. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island all had the 10 wettest years.
Drought reached its peak coverage of 46.3% of the contiguous United States at the beginning of 2023. Drought coverage diminished across the country as atmospheric rivers and the summer monsoon delivered higher than normal precipitation across much of the western United States, recharging some Major reservoirs that were dry fell to their lowest levels in 2022. Drought fell to a minimum of 19% on May 30 – the smallest footprint for the contiguous United States since mid-2020.
Billion-dollar disasters in 2023
Last year, the United States experienced 28 separate climate disasters worth $1 billion. This surpasses 2020 – which had 22 events – for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters in the United States ever.
“The United States was hit with more billion-dollar disasters in 2023 than in any other year on record, highlighting the growing risks posed by our changing climate,” said Dickey Arndt, NOAA NCEI Administrator. “Record heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods are a sobering reminder of the consequences of the long-term warming trend we are seeing across our country. These findings underscore the need for NOAA data products and services, like this annual report, to help In creating a more enlightened and climate prepared nation.
The 28 events for 2023 include:
- 17 extreme weather/hail events.
- 4 flood events
- 2 tropical cyclones (Idalia in Florida and Hurricane Mawar in Guam).
- 2 Tornado outbreak.
- 1 winter storm/cold wave.
- One wildfire event (Maui Island, Hawaii).
- 1 Drought and heat wave occurred.
The total cost of these 28 disasters was $92.9 billion, but this could rise by several billion dollars when the costs of the East Coast storms and flooding from December 16-18, 2023 are fully calculated.
Read more in our blog, 2023: A landmark year of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.
(Image credit: NOAA/NCEI)
The costliest events in 2023 were a drought and heat wave in the South/Midwest, costing $14.5 billion, and a severe weather event in the South/East in early March, costing $6.0 billion.
Adding the events of 2023 to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) $1 billion record of disasters dating back to 1980, we find that the United States has been hit by 376 separate weather and climate-related disasters. Damage costs for each of these events amounted to or exceeded $1 billion. The cumulative cost of these 376 events exceeds $2.660 trillion.
Other notable climate and weather events in 2023
Extreme heat sweeps parts of the country: Several historic heat waves will hit across the United States in 2023.
Some of those events include:
- June 20: Del Rio, Texas, and Rio Grande, Texas, both recorded 113 degrees Fahrenheit, and San Angelo, Texas, recorded a high of 114 degrees, setting an all-time heat record for each location.
- July: The average temperature in Phoenix, Arizona, was 102.8 degrees Fahrenheit for July, the hottest month on record for any American city.
- July 16: The temperature in California's Death Valley rose to 128 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a daily temperature record, and the highest midnight temperature ever recorded was 120 degrees on July 17.
- August 24: Temperatures in Chicago soared to 100 degrees Fahrenheit — the first 100 degree temperature since July 6, 2012. The heat index reached 120 degrees, the highest ever recorded at Chicago's official climate watch site.
- September: San Juan, Puerto Rico, reported an average monthly temperature of 85.8 degrees Fahrenheit during September – making it the hottest month on record for the city.
Above-average hurricane year: The number of tornadoes for 2023 was above average, with 1,197 tornadoes reported, and 97 additional proto-tornadoes still under verification from October 1 to December 31.
Some important hurricane events from 2023 include:
- January 16: Two tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service in Iowa, the first tornadoes the state has seen in a January since 1967.
- March 22: An EF-1 tornado struck the Los Angeles area, developing into the strongest tornado to hit the area since 1983.
- March 31: Nearly 28 million people were under a tornado watch as the deadly tornado spread widely across parts of the Midwest and southern United States. The National Weather Service has confirmed more than 110 tornadoes, including one EF-4 tornado and eight EF-3 tornadoes – the largest tornadoes. Within 24 hours during the month of March.
- April 1: A 700-yard-wide EF-3 tornado struck Delaware — the largest tornado in the state's history and tied for the strongest.
Almost normal number of forest fires: The number of wildfires in 2023 was near average, with more than 55,500 wildfires reported over the course of the year. The total acres burned from the wildfires — 2.6 million acres — was well below the 10-year average of 7.1 million acres. In Alaska, nearly 300,000 acres burned during the 2023 fire season, less than half the state's seasonal average.
More > Access the latest NOAA climate report and download images.
