The U.S. has had a record 25 weather disasters so far in 2023, each of which caused at least $1 billion in damage — and a new NASA analysis suggests the year’s extreme weather events may be far from over.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday released its monthly climate report, which included details of the country’s billion-dollar extreme weather events in the first 10 months of the year. With two months left in 2023, the 25 disasters tallied to date are already the most for any year since 1980, when NOAA started keeping such records.
This year’s major disasters included flooding events in the Northeast and in California, a deadly wildfire in Hawaii, Hurricane Idalia in August, a drought and heat wave event that gripped the South and Midwest, and a flurry of severe storms around the country.
In a separate report, NASA said parts of the U.S. could see an increase in flooding this winter if a strong El Niño develops. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate pattern characterized by warmer-than-usual waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon affects global temperatures, rainfall, hurricanes and severe storms, and typically drives climate anomalies and extremes.
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If a strong El Niño develops this winter, NASA scientists said cities along the western coast could see an increase in the frequency of high-tide flooding that can turn roads into waterways and inundate low-lying structures.
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