Billion Dollar Weather Disasters Continue To Pile Up In The United States

The severe flooding during July in Vermont was one of 23
United States disasters so far this year that 
cost at least $1 billion. 

 Every month, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information update their list of weather disasters so far this year that cost at least $1 billion.  

The last update was bad, really bad.

They've confirmed eight new billion dollar disasters, so far this year. That brings the total number of billion dollar weather disasters in the United States to 23. The previous record for the highest humble row $1 billion disasters for an entire year was 22, in 2020. 

According to NCEI:

"For this year-to-date period, the first eight months of 2023 rank highest for disaster count, ahead of 2020 with 16 disaster. The total cost of these events exceeds $57.6 billion, and they have resulted in 253 direct and indirect fatalities."

By the way, the list of billion dollar disasters is inflation adjusted. So if a disaster caused, say $800 million in 1980 dollars, it would now be included in the tally of billion dollar disasters. 

The Washington Post summarizes the trend: 

"While the United States has experienced an average of about eight billion disaster annually for the past four decades, in the past five years, that average has jumped to nearly 18 events annually. Five of the past six years have seen total losses in excess of $100 billion, when adjusted for inflation."

One of the disasters added to this rogues list of calamities was Vermont's catastrophic flood, though NOAA put that disaster under the umbrella of "Northeast Flooding and North Central Severe Weather."  Apparently, while Vermont and New York and some other Northeast states were drowning in mid-July, the north central states were being pummeled by severe thunderstorm winds and hail.

The most recent addition of the list was Hurricane Idalia in Florida at the end of August.  

Climate change of course plays a role in the increasing number of disasters. But it definitely is not the only one 

People continue to flock to and build in many vulnerable locations, such as storm-prone coastlines, the edge of dry forests that can erupt into flames and in spots that can drown when nearby rivers rise.  

There will probably be more before the year is out. Remember, we have the rest of September, along with October, November and December to get through.  A couple billion dollar disasters might have already happened. NOAA is still analyzing the costs of droughts in the Midwest and South and Hurricane Hilary in the Desert Southwest.