2023 Year in Review: Billion-Dollar Disasters: April to June
There was a very unsettled weather pattern throughout the U.S. during the spring and early summer months. Mother Nature provided 11 especially dangerous storms that ended up with more than $25 billion in damages.
April
Midwest to Ohio Valley Severe Weather Outbreak (April 4-6, 2023):
A mature storm system swung out of the central Plains and into the Midwest to kick off the start of a multi-day severe weather event, which began across the Middle Mississippi Valley on April 4. The advancing cold front continued to initiate severe weather from New York and Michigan down to Texas and Louisiana as it dropped southeastward on the 5th. There was even enough energy left over for storms to produce gusty winds and hail across the southern Mid-Atlantic on April 6.
This three-day outbreak produced a preliminary 806 severe weather reports that were mostly related to strong winds and hail, but it also included 43 preliminary tornado reports. The hail was a big stand-out at the start of the severe weather outbreak, with 384 hail reports that included 63 reports of large hail that were at least two inches in diameter. Northern Illinois was hit the worst, which included a large swath of hail and wind damage in the greater Chicago area.
Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Severe Weather Outbreak (April 15, 2023):
Two main clusters of storms affected many residents from the Middle Mississippi Valley to the Gulf Coast as a storm system rapidly organized over the Midwest. Along and ahead of the system’s cold front, storms ripped through Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas. Ample moisture and instability allowed another cluster of storms to follow the Gulf Coast from eastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
The most severe damage occurred along the northern end of the storm system, with a family of tornadoes pushing along I-70 in eastern Missouri that ended up going through the St. Louis metro and areas just south of there. Copious amounts of hail were spread down the Mississippi River Valley from Missouri down through Arkansas, western Louisiana, and eastern Texas. Thunderstorm gusts approached 100 mph at its peak, and hail up to 4 inches in diameter was observed. Most of the rest of the Gulf Coast saw storms producing gusty winds throughout the day.
Central U.S. Severe Weather (April 19-20, 2023):
Mid-April was quite active with severe weather across the heart of the country, and April 19-20 was no different. As a storm system matured over the central Plains and lifted across the Midwest, a combination of the dryline and cold front triggered multiple rounds of severe weather over the two-day period. Like other disturbances from earlier in the month, this system was a notable hail producer, with hail reports extending from Nebraska and Texas eastward to Illinois and Arkansas.
There were also notable clusters of tornadoes on the 19th as the system strengthened. Western Iowa into eastern Kansas saw the northern extent of the tornado development, while a cluster of storms also produced tornadoes just south of Oklahoma City.
Northern Illinois got hit hard on the 20th, with wind gusts topping out around 80 mph as storms rolled into the Chicago metro. Significant hail was also produced in northern Illinois and central Texas.
Severe Weather Across the Deep South (April 25-27, 2023):
A compact storm system zipping across the southern U.S. spent three days terrorizing the Deep South with severe storms as it tapped into highly unstable air that was draped across the region. Each day produced well-defined clusters of storms that put out large hail and occasional tornadoes, stretching from the Texas Panhandle on the 25th to eastern Texas on the 26th, then across northern Florida and southern Georgia on the 27th.
The most damaging storms on April 26 brought hail up to 4.5 inches in diameter to the Waco, Texas, region. This same cluster of storms also produced a couple of brief tornadoes in the same area. Then on April 27, storms exceeded expectations across northern Florida as a family of tornadoes spawned across the central and eastern parts of the panhandle during the afternoon.
May
Central Severe Weather Outbreak (May 6-8, 2023):
A multi-day severe weather event began when severe thunderstorms developed across much of eastern Iowa and northeast Missouri into portions of northwest Illinois on the evening of May 6, 2023. An initial supercell developed across northwest Missouri during the early afternoon hours, then moved across much of the state, producing an EF-0 tornado along its track. North of this storm, thunderstorms, mainly along and south of Interstate 80, generated hail around half an inch to one inch, with one storm in eastern Van Buren County producing hail up to golf ball size.
Another round of severe storms developed from northern Illinois into northern Indiana on May 7th, producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. Golf ball sized hail was observed near Lake Village, Ind., and near Lisbon, Ill. Three brief land spout tornadoes also developed in northeast Illinois as a line of intense thunderstorms moved eastward. This line of storms moved into southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, and as the line of storms approached the Ohio River, several hook echoes developed on the leading edge and interacted with storm outflow to create six brief spin-up tornadoes.
The final day of the event featured an organized complex of severe thunderstorms over Missouri during the evening. The storms tracked east-southeast across southeast Missouri, reaching far western Kentucky and southern Illinois. Damaging winds were reported, and widespread tree damage and power outages occurred near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. This multi-state event, multi-day event led to $1.8 billion in damage.
Rockies/Central Severe Weather Outbreak (May 10-12, 2023):
Several rounds of severe thunderstorms and very heavy rain moved across the Tri-State area of eastern Colorado, western Nebraska, and northwest Kansas. Numerous locations received several inches of rain, resulting in widespread flooding. Severe thunderstorms occurred each day, with very large hail and damaging winds prevailing on May 10th and tornadoes touching down on May 11th.
Large hail was reported across eastern Colorado, including parts of the south Denver metro area on May 10th, as the storms moved through in the afternoon. Slushy gravel-sized hail coated roads and yards. The next day during the late afternoon hours of May 11, thunderstorms formed in southwestern Oklahoma and near Wichita Falls in north Texas and moved northeastward into central Oklahoma. Other supercell thunderstorms developed in central Oklahoma. Multiple supercell thunderstorms intensified and eventually produced hail of 1 to 1.25 inches in diameter and tornadoes. A total of 12 tornadoes occurred in central Oklahoma on May 11th, with two tornadoes in the Cole-Goldsby and Noble areas rated EF-1.
On May 12, numerous severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds, and flooding through much of eastern Nebraska into far northern Kansas on the afternoon and evening. In total, 19 tornadoes were confirmed in the Omaha, Neb., area along with wind damage from estimated 70 to 80 mph winds in Pilger and near Leigh. In addition, grapefruit-sized hail (4.5" diameter) was reported in Table Rock. Total damage reported from this multi-state, multi-day event reached $2.8 billion.
Texas Hailstorms (May 18-19, 2023):
Severe thunderstorms rumbled across portions of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles during the afternoon and overnight period of May 18th into May 19th. Very heavy rainfall rates occurred in the stronger storms, some of which exceeded 4 to 6 inches per hour. This led to some flash flooding and river flooding. Some storms also produced large hail up to tennis ball size along with very strong winds associated with supercell rear flank downdrafts. One very brief tornado was confirmed in Carson County. It caused some broken tree limbs and tossed a dumpster several yards back to the south. It damaged an attached garage, collapsing the structure. It also blew some horse trailers over in a nearby field.
The following day in north-central Texas, storms moved through the region, with one severe thunderstorm packing monstrous hail. This caused significant damage, particularly in Collin County, in the Dallas Metro area, where hail reached 1-inch to 2.5-inches, most notably in Frisco and Allen, Texas. Since the hail was the size of tennis balls, the hailstorm caused damage, which included several hail-dented cars and broken windows. Total damage was estimated at $1.6 billion.
June
Southern Severe Storm Outbreak (June 11-14, 2023):
A multi-day severe storm outbreak, encompassing Oklahoma and Texas to as far north as southwestern Ohio, and as far south as southern Georgia, northern Florida, and the southwestern corner of South Carolina caused $4.1 billion in damage. The government’s Storm Prediction Center issued a Moderate Risk for an organized storm outbreak across the Deep South on June 14th, including throwing the “derecho” term in the discussion for that evening and night near the western and central Gulf Coast.
Gigantic sized hail, up to 5.5-inch was measured along Interstate 40 west of Shamrock, Texas, the evening of June 13th. June 14th had nearly 400 severe weather reports. An EF-2 tornado traveled 8.9 miles from Wright Patman Lake to Bloomburg, Texas. Another EF-2 tornado carved an 18.9-mile path across Georgia from Blakely to Nicholasville. Trees were snapped or uprooted, homes were heavily damaged or destroyed, as were businesses and vehicles. An EF-3 tornado damaged or destroyed nearly 200 homes and led to three deaths in Perryton, Texas, on June 14th. This storm outbreak packed nearly 1,000 severe weather reports.
Central and Southern Severe Weather Outbreak (June 15-18, 2023):
In a rinse-and-repeat pattern, giant hail, destructive wind gusts, and a tornado risk covered many of the same south-central and southern U.S. locations. Seemingly every day a corridor of enhanced, organized severe weather was forecast from Colorado and western Kansas through the central Gulf Coast and northern Florida. A thunderstorm gust clocked at 84 mph occurred near Norman, Okla., on June 15th.
The list of severe weather reports seemed endless. An EF-3 tornado on June 18th stayed on the ground for nearly 20 minutes, tracking 7.7 miles from Bay Springs to Louin, Miss., leading to one death and 25 injuries. Two more fatalities occurred near Pensacola, Fla., as an organized thunderstorm complex rumbled through during the evening of June 15th. A National Weather Service survey indicated a wide swath of 65 to 75 mph gusts occurred from that storm. That same day, scattered to numerous gusts of 75 to 90 mph covered southwestern Kansas and southern Oklahoma to northwestern Louisiana as well. The multi-day event produced five deaths, oodles of home, business, vehicles, and agriculture damage, as well as $3.8 billion in damage.
Rockies Hail/Central/Eastern Severe Outbreak (June 21-26, 2023):
The atmosphere kept unloading billion dollar disasters, unfortunately. This time, caught in the violent weather’s crosshairs were homes, businesses, vehicles, and agricultural infrastructure from Colorado and Wyoming to Minnesota, Kentucky, and Arkansas. One of the more infamous memories of this particular outbreak occurred on June 21st at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver. The local National Weather Service office in Boulder, Colo., tagged the Amphitheatre in a tweet, letting them know dangerous weather was on the way at 9:04 p.m. MDT, but the storm-related evacuation was slow to occur. Up to 90 people were injured with 7 transported to a local hospital after being pelted by ping pong to golf ball size hail – injuries ranged from bruises and cuts to broken bones. Thankfully, there were no deaths.
An EF-3 tornado carved a little more than a 9-mile path from Whiteflat to Matador, Texas, on June 21st. Four deaths and 15 injuries later, the violent tornado left the town in shambles. More than 250 severe weather reports littered the nation’s midsection from Texas to Wyoming, South Dakota, and Minnesota on June 23rd. By June 25th, the severe weather devastation rocked residents from Michigan to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Of the nearly 570 severe weather reports that day, an EF-2 tornado with wind speeds of 120 mph touched down near Alfordsville, Ind. Dissipating near Hillham, Ind., after a 9-mile path, the tornado caused one death and one injury in a home. The chaos persisted through June 26th, littering the Eastern Seaboard from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York to the Carolinas in more than 350 severe weather reports.
The destruction was devastating, causing $5 billion in damage and a total of eight deaths.
Central Severe Weather Outbreak (June 28 to July 2, 2023):
The flip of the calendar from June to July didn’t mean severe weather would be any less intense, or even take a day or two off. This multi-day event was focused a bit further north than some of the others. States such as Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana to Kentucky were particularly hard hit this time.
On June 29th, an EF-2 tornado raced 9 miles in just 7 minutes from Curran to Chatham, Ill., removing parts of a home’s roof and toppling numerous trees, tree branches, and power lines. On June 30th, a truck pulling a camper near Kanorado, Kan., was blown off the road onto its side, leading to a single injury. Three more injuries occurred in Warsaw and near Dry Ridge, Ky., after large trees were downed and a home had been heavily damaged. A fallen tree led to an injury at a home near Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., on July 1st. Two fatalities occurred in and near St. Louis when trees crushed a vehicle and fell onto a home on July 1st, respectively.
The first day of July was a busy severe weather day, racking up 300 combined tornado, high winds, and hail reports. More than 340 reports were counted on July 2nd, including three injuries near Liberty, Ind., where multiple trees were toppled by fierce thunderstorm wind gusts. This multi-state event, multi-day event racked up a price tag of $2.1 billion in damage and three deaths.
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An EF-3 tornado heavily damaged a home near Louin, Miss., on June 18, 2023. (NOAA, Wikimedia Commons)