2024 Year in Review: Billion Dollar Disasters From January Through April

The first few months of 2024 was a busy one from multi-day severe weather events, major winter storms and intense cold outbreaks. Mother Nature provided nine especially dangerous weather events that ended up costing more than $21.2 billion in damage.

January 8–9, 2024: Southeastern Tornado Outbreak

A powerful storm system moved across the southeastern U.S. on January 8 and 9, 2024, bringing widespread damaging winds and a tornado outbreak. The system caused several injuries and one fatality. Tornadoes impacted coastal Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. There were also isolated tornadoes in Texas and Louisiana.

In total, 39 tornadoes were recorded, which included: 13 EF-0s, 15 EF-1s, six EF-2s and one EF-3. There were also several EF-U (unknown) tornadoes, with minimal, unrated impact. Hundreds of high wind reports were scattered up the East Coast, producing damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure. The strongest tornado was an EF-3 that caused significant damage around Panama City Beach, Fla., after an intense waterspout moved onshore. This tornado caused heavy damage to numerous coastal homes, apartments, vehicles and businesses. Final cost of the event was $2.8 billion.


January 12-14, 2024: Northwest Winter Storm

A significant winter storm impacted the northwestern U.S. in mid-January, delivering heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and strong winds. In Oregon, the Columbia River Gorge faced hurricane-force wind gusts reaching up to 80 mph, with gusts over 50 mph in Portland. This combination of strong winds and freezing rain generated major ice accumulations, with some areas recording up to an inch of ice! The hazardous conditions caused many vehicle accidents in the Willamette Valley, Ore. Furthermore, over 200,000 customers lost power throughout the state. Eleven fatalities were reported due to fallen trees, hypothermia, and electrocution by downed power lines.

In Washington, the storm brought blizzard conditions to mountain areas, marking the first blizzard warnings for these areas since 2012. Stevens Pass saw 29 inches of snow pile up within a 30-hour period. After the storm, Seattle recorded a low temperature of 13 degrees, the coldest since 1990. The severe weather also forced the closure of ski resorts on Mount Baker due to the extreme cold. Ultimately, this event cause $1.7 billion in damages.
 

January 14-18, 2024: Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave

A large Arctic airmass pushed south from Canada and gripped much of the contiguous U.S. for several days in mid-January 2024. Bitterly cold temperatures, freezing rain, and snow extended from the Pacific Northwest all the way to the East Coast. High winds pushed wind chills well below zero in many states, which contributed to the 30 overall fatalities from the storm. Wind chill reached as low as minus-60 degrees in Montana and the Dakotas.

The cold air extended as far south as Texas and Louisiana, where temperatures dropped into the teens on January 15 and 16. On January 16, the airport in Houston registered 19 degrees, a new all-time low for that date. The arctic air mass from January 14 to 18 broke nearly 2,500 daily county minimum temperature records from the Northwest to the Lower Mississippi Valley.

Lake-effect snow dropped 1 to 3 inches of snow per hour to cities downwind of the Great Lakes. Areas of western New York were buried in more than 2 feet of snow by January 14. Heavy snow also fell over much of the Northeast, and New York City reported over an inch of snow for the first time in nearly two years on January 16.

The official climate site at Nashville International Airport measured 7.6 inches of snow, receiving more snow in this one event than the city typically receives during the entire winter season. Temperatures also plunged below zero in parts of Tennessee, creating the largest power demand ever across the seven states served by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

In the end, there was $1.1 billion in damages from this event.


February 10-12, 2024: Southern Severe Hail Event

A potent low pressure system that developed over New Mexico tracked along the Gulf Coast and produced damaging severe weather across several states. While there was plenty of damaging wind reports, hail dominated the event with nearly 70 reports of large hailstones across several states. Up to golf ball sized hail, flash flooding, and high winds racked up $1.1 billion dollars in damages from Texas to North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. On the northern side of the storm, around 7 inches of snow was measured over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. 


February 27-28, 2024: Central & Eastern Severe Weather Outbreak

Over two dozen tornadoes were reported across the Midwest after a potent weather system strengthened around the Great Lakes region. This included two EF-2 tornadoes in central Ohio near Springfield and Jersey. Additional tornadoes were reported in southern Michigan and northern Illinois which included the suburbs of Chicago. Large tennis ball sized hail brought extensive damage as well. On the second day, there were additional tornadoes confirmed in southeastern Ohio and central New York, but the main culprit on February 28th was damaging winds from eastern New York to the Tennessee Valley and southeastern States. Final cost of the event was $1.5 billion. 


March 12-14, 2024: Central and Southern Severe Weather Outbreak

A historic weather event unfolded in March across the central and southern U.S. Favorable parameters were in place for severe weather to organize over the course of several days. A low pressure system sitting over the heartland was able to produce large hail just southeast of Kansas City, Mo. The next day, severe weather reports started to become more widespread from Kansas to Illinois. Supercells brought five tornadoes and hail the size of softballs! 

The most notable day was on March 14th as moisture started to stream northward colliding with the cold air mass to its northwest. Hail grew larger than grapefruits over Ada, Okla., measuring 5.25 inches! High wind damage also occurred as far south as Alabama and Mississippi with gusts in excess of 70 mph. There were 37 tornado reports from Texas to Ohio. Sadly, two EF-3 tornadoes near Botkins, Ohio, and Selma, Ind., injured 65 people and took 3 lives. This event brought $6.1 billion in damages.


April 1-3, 2024: Southern Plains to Ohio Valley/Appalachian Tornado and Severe Weather Outbreak

A multi-day memorable tornado and severe storm outbreak by the numbers – a $2.5 billion disaster, five fatalities, 25 injuries, more than 700,000 power outages, 86 confirmed tornadoes, and more than 470 total severe weather reports littered Oklahoma and Texas to the Eastern Seaboard.

Fueled by warm, humid air ahead of a dryline attached to low pressure in Kansas, thunderstorms started to develop on Monday afternoon, April 1st, in central and northern Texas. The storm’s warm front, draped along the Interstate 44 to 70 corridor instigated new storm development the same afternoon and evening from northeastern Oklahoma to St. Louis and southern Illinois. Baseball and grapefruit size hail were reported in Hawley and near Briar, Texas, respectively. Golf ball sized hail was also measured as far north as St. Louis. Widespread damaging wind gusts occurred, including 88 mph near Albany, Texas. A combined ten EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes caused tree, siding, fence, and power pole damage in Missouri and Oklahoma.

Several lines and a cluster of thunderstorms raced across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Tuesday, April 2nd. Included was a derecho, tracking from near the southern Missouri-Illinois border to the West Virginia-Virginia border from predawn until Noon.

The National Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky., confirmed seven EF-2 tornadoes, often on the ground for less than 15 minutes and 15 miles between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2nd. Widespread significant wind damage occurred, which included a gust exceeding 90 mph near Huntington, W. Va. A West Virginia single-day state record of ten tornadoes occurred with a total of 72 confirmed EF-0 to EF-2 tornadoes from Illinois to Ohio, Alabama, and Georgia.

The severe weather threat shifted to the Atlantic Seaboard from Maryland into the Carolinas and Florida on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four confirmed tornadoes and several handfuls of damaging wind reports were documented.

April 8-11, 2024: Southern and Eastern Severe Weather

The next U.S. billion dollar disaster occurred just a week later. This time, the event would happen over several days, covering Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas to parts of the Atlantic Seaboard. The total price tag from this event is $2.7-billion.

A lumbering, intensifying disturbance aloft in the Southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico on Monday and Tuesday was an absolute beast. Early in the morning on Wednesday, April 10th, low pressure organized near Houston before plodding to near the Louisiana-Arkansas border by evening. The storm would curve into Ohio and West Virginia by Thursday evening, April 11th, gathering more strength.

Ahead of the storm’s arrival was a flood of warm, humid air. Combined with robust winds aloft, droves of dangerous weather rumbled from western Tennessee to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend through midweek, April 10th. The multi-day event culminated with a mini-storm outbreak across West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina on Thursday, April 11th, although damaging winds and an isolated tornado were also observed in northern Florida.

Highlights from the multi-day severe and tornado outbreak included giant hail ranging from baseball up to grapefruit size. Burnet and near Briggs, Texas, were pelted by 4 to 4.25-inch diameter hail on Tuesday, April 9th. A confirmed, strong EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 115 mph touched down on the eastern side of McNeese State University and damaged a nearby health complex on April 10th. Damaging several homes and packing widespread tree and power pole damage in less than 5 minutes on the ground, the tornado would dissipate. Two more significant EF-2 tornadoes would touch down on April 10th, one carving an 11.2 mile path from near Eden Isle, La., to near Pearlington, Miss., during mid-morning. The other collapsed a large part of a Baptist Church’s walls in Port Arthur, Texas, in addition to ripping off roofs and damaging and downing trees.

A rare Flash Flood Emergency was issued on Wednesday, April 10th, until at least early that afternoon. A repetitive west-to-east moving band of thunderstorms, flowing along a remnant boundary from previous activity, crushed the New Orleans metro area. Torrential rain led to numerous road closures and a few high water rescues throughout the city and surrounding parishes. Businesses and homes were flooded. Laplace, La., recorded 9.98 inches of rainfall, while Metairie, La., measured 7.49 inches. Downtown New Orleans and New Orleans International Airport were soaked with 6.71 inches and 6.24 inches of rainfall, respectively.

Less than a handful of EF-1 tornadoes were observed on the final day of the outbreak, one in Florida and Virginia and two in North Carolina. An injury occurred in the EF-1 tornado in St. Johns County in Florida. Thunderstorms also produced tree, power lines, and minor structure damage on Thursday, April 11th, from Virginia to North Carolina and northern Florida.

April 26-28, 2024: Central to Southeastern U.S. Tornado Outbreak

An intense area of low pressure wound up in northeastern Nebraska late on Friday, April 26th. A dryline extending from the Nebraska-Iowa border to Texas, and the storm’s triple-point intersection led to a thunderstorm frenzy. Several significant, long-track tornadoes damaged or destroyed hundreds, maybe thousands, of homes and businesses across eastern Nebraska and western and southwestern Iowa. The Elkhorn, Neb., tornado, rated EF-4 with peak winds of 170 mph and a rare Tornado Emergency issued on Friday afternoon, April 26th, remarkably caused only four injuries.

An EF-3 tornado with peak winds of 160 mph tore across Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties in Iowa, swiping the western side of Harland, Iowa, on Friday evening, April 26th. Three injuries and a fatality occurred unfortunately. In Minden, Iowa, several retail outlets and homes were heavily damaged or destroyed. A semi-truck was flipped as it crossed Interstate 80, and a swath of vegetation and building damage occurred to the north of the interstate along York Road.

On the second day of the outbreak, Saturday, April 27th, an EF-3 nighttime tornado with peak winds of 165 mph motored across Sulphur, Okla. The small town was devastated, with homes and businesses, including brick buildings, being heavily damaged, leveled or even collapsing. There was one fatality and 30 injuries.

Unfortunately, two more intense, long-track scary nighttime tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma on Saturday, April 27th. The Spaulding to Bearden, Okla., was rated EF-3, leading to two deaths and four injuries. The tornadoes raw power crumpled metal transmission towers southeast of Bearden, Okla. Rated EF-4, the Marietta to Baum, Okla., tornado packed peak winds of 170 mph, one death and six injuries, and ravaged a Dollar Tree Distribution Center west of Marietta, Okla., as well as a Homeland Grocery store in Marietta, Okla.

This tornado outbreak resulted in $1.7 billion in damages.

A final barrage of dangerous weather brewed across parts of eastern Oklahoma and Texas to the Middle and Lower Mississippi valleys on Sunday, April 28th. Seventeen tornadoes, 80 high wind, and eight large hail reports were reported from southern Illinois and Missouri to eastern Texas and western and northern Louisiana. An EF-1 tornado damaged homes in the Rock Creek Subdivision near Trinity, Texas, leading to two injuries. A weather station near Madisonville, Texas, clocked a 79 mph thunderstorm gust. Total damages of $1.7 billion occurred.
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Image: A significant tornado carved a path across downtown Sulphur, Okla., on April 27th, leading to extreme damage. (via Wikimedia Commons)