Climate Central
Donate

Florida Summary

U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

CPI-Adjusted: All costs are adjusted for inflation to 2026 dollars using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI).

From 1981–2026, Florida experienced 98 billion-dollar events totaling $300B+ in CPI-adjusted costs. The costliest year was 2022 ($100B–200B), and the most active year by count was 2024 (11 events). Risk Score accounted for the largest share of costs, while Risk Score was most frequent. Over the last 5 years, annual CPI-adjusted costs were up 181% versus the long-term average.

Florida Monthly Climatology of Billion-Dollar Disasters (46 years)

Monthly climatology of billion-dollar disasters
MonthDroughtFloodingFreezeSevere StormTropical CycloneWildfireWinter StormTotal
Jan013301311
Feb00140106
Mar301701113
Apr3101401019
May300601010
Jun700213013
Jul700233015
Aug7001123023
Sep2000153020
Oct210063012
Nov20002307
Dec02210117

Florida Monthly Probability of Billion-Dollar Disasters

Monthly probability of billion-dollar disasters
Month1+ Events2+ Events3+ Events4+ Events5+ Events
Jan24%4%0%0%0%
Feb15%0%0%0%0%
Mar26%2%0%0%0%
Apr28%11%2%0%0%
May15%4%2%0%0%
Jun20%9%0%0%0%
Jul26%7%0%0%0%
Aug39%11%0%0%0%
Sep35%7%2%0%0%
Oct24%2%0%0%0%
Nov15%0%0%0%0%
Dec15%4%0%0%0%
Total Events
98
Total Cost
$300B+
Average Cost / Event
$2B–5B

Florida Cost (cumulative monthly)

Florida Events (cumulative monthly)

Severe storm

Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Storms

Cost:$1.4B
On March 15 and 16, a tornado outbreak and severe storm system swept across multiple states in the Central and Eastern United States. On March 15 alone, more than 50 tornadoes were reported, with the greatest concentration across southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northeast Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. These storms caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, and critical infrastructure. In many areas, communities also faced downed trees and power lines, leading to road closures and power outages.
Freeze

Florida Freeze

Cost:$3.1B
In late January into early February, much of Florida endured days of record low temperatures, with readings in the 20s to 30s F, causing extensive agricultural damage. The prolonged hard freeze and unusually cold conditions resulted in billions of dollars in losses across the state, particularly citrus crops. The first week of February ranked among the three coldest such periods on record for the Florida Peninsula, with mean temperatures running up to 15F below average. Cities including Daytona Beach, Orlando, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, and Key West experienced some of the most significant departures from normal.
Severe storm

Central Severe Storms

Cost:$1.1B
Severe storms produced damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes across numerous central states from the Dakotas to Texas. More than a dozen tornadoes caused sporadic damage from eastern Iowa into Illinois.
Severe storm

North Central Tornado Outbreak

Cost:$2.0B
Deaths:6
A large-scale severe weather outbreak swept across the North Central states between March 29 and 31, producing more than 55 confirmed tornadoes along with widespread reports of damaging winds and large hail. The tornado impacts stretched from southern Michigan to Mississippi. One of these was a 30‑mile tornado track in Kentucky. There was also a dense cluster of severe hail in southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeastern Arkansas causing damage.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Milton

Cost:$35.6B
Deaths:32
Category 3 Hurricane Milton with 120 mph sustained winds made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida on October 9. A storm surge of 5 to 10 feet cased damage from Naples to Charlotte Harbor. Milton's track to the south of Tampa Bay lessened storm surge impacts on the densely populated Tampa metro region. Dozens of tornadoes were also spawn from Milton that damaged many homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure across southern Florida. Milton underwent rapid intensification into a Category 5 hurricane with 180 mph sustained winds and a 897 mb central pressure reading. An environment of enhanced wind shear the day prior to landfall reduced Milton's peak wind potential.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Helene

Cost:$81.9B
Deaths:219
Category 4 Hurricane Helene with 140 mph sustained winds was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida having made landfall near Perry, Florida on September 26. Helene was the third hurricane to hit the Big Bend region in just over a year. It caused up to 15 feet of storm surge along the Big Bend coast and six feet of surge as far south as St. Petersburg. It also caused billions of dollars in damage to Georgia's agriculture sector. Helene's most severe impacts were from the historic rainfall (up to 30+ inches) and flooding across much of western North Carolina. This flooding eclipsed the region's previous worst flood from 1916. Asheville and many surrounding cities and communities were heavily impacted. Southwestern Virginia and extreme eastern Tennessee were also heavily impacted. Damage came in many forms. Landslides, debris flows, and historic levels of flooding inundated and destroyed homes, businesses, parks, hospitals, the electrical, cellular and water system infrastructure, and damaged thousands of roads, highways and bridges, as examples. Additional information is currently being assembled that summarizes the vast scope of damage produced by Helene. Helene was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Maria (2017), and the deadliest to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina (2005).
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Francine

Cost:$1.3B
Category 2 Hurricane Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana on September 11, with 100 mph sustained winds. The storm caused wind and flood damage to homes, vehicles, businesses and other infrastructure across coastal Louisiana. Francine also produced heavy precipitation in parts of Alabama and Georgia. Muscle Shoals, AL recorded a three-day rainfall total of 9.02 inches beginning on September 12, which is its third highest 3-day total on record since 1893.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Debby

Cost:$2.6B
Deaths:17
Category 1 Hurricane Debby made landfall on August 5 near Steinhatchee, Florida with 80 mph sustained winds and a second landfall near Bulls Bay, South Carolina as a tropical storm on August 8. Debby produced over 10 inches of rainfall from southwestern Florida up through the coastal sections of Georgia and the Carolinas. Debby continued to track up the East Coast affecting numerous states with heavy rain, flash flood and river flooding and strong winds. A frontal system merged with the remnants of Debby that led to flash flooding in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and southeastern New York. This interaction also produced an EF-1 tornado that impacted Buffalo, New York.
Severe storm

Southern Derecho

Cost:$1.6B
Deaths:8
A rare southern derecho event produced high wind damage from Texas to Florida. Central and eastern Texas were impacted by high winds at times exceeding 100 mph. These winds also ripped through downtown Houston blowing out numerous windows in skyscrapers causing considerable damage. Louisiana, Alabama and Florida also were impacted by damaging winds impacting many homes, vehicles and businesses.
Severe storm

Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.2B
Deaths:1
Damaging hail, tornadoes and high wind impact central and eastern Texas, southern Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle on May 11-13. In addition to golf ball sized hail in Texas, more than a dozen tornadoes cause damage to homes, vehicles, businesses and other infrastructure in near coastal counties of Louisiana, Texas and Florida.
Severe storm

Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak

Cost:$6.8B
Deaths:3
An outbreak producing more than 165 tornadoes developed across many central, southern and southeastern states. The states most affected include Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. This multi-day tornado outbreak produced at least 61 EF-0, 79 EF-1, 13 EF-2, three EF-3, one EF-4 tornado and dozens of EF-U (unknown/unrated) tornadoes, causing widespread damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. The towns of Barnsdall and Bartlesville, Oklahoma were impacted by an EF-4 tornado that caused extensive damage.
Severe storm

Southern and Eastern Severe Weather

Cost:$2.8B
Southern and eastern severe weather produced tornadoes, hail and high wind, from Texas to Virginia. The event began with severe hail and high wind impacts across central and eastern Texas, followed by more than 20 tornadoes impacting the Gulf Coast counties of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. There were additional high wind and tornado impacts in North Carolina and Virginia.
Severe storm

Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather

Cost:$2.6B
Deaths:3
A central tornado outbreak produced more than 85 tornadoes across a three-day period from Oklahoma to West Virginia. This outbreak included 19 EF-0, 52 EF-1 and 14 EF-2 tornadoes, which were most concentrated across the Ohio River Valley on April 1-2. These tornadoes and severe weather impacts across several eastern states caused damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure.
Severe storm

Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.1B
Severe storms produced up to golf ball sized hail across central and eastern Texas causing damage to homes, vehicles and businesses. Additional damage from hail and high winds and training thunderstorms caused flooding across portions of Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
Severe storm

Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm

Cost:$2.9B
Deaths:3
Southern tornado outbreak and east coast storm impacted more than a dozen states. At least 39 preliminary tornadoes were clustered around the Florida Panhandle through the Carolinas while hundreds of high wind reports were scattered up the East Coast reflecting damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure. The strongest tornado was an EF-3 that caused significant damage around Panama City Beach, Florida, after an intense waterspout moved onshore.
Flooding

East Coast Storm and Flooding

Cost:$1.4B
Deaths:5
Powerful east coast storm from Florida to Maine produced widespread impacts from heavy rainfall, flooding, high winds and coastal erosion. The heavy rainfall and snowmelt were amplified by record-high temperatures in the Northeast.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Idalia

Cost:$3.7B
Deaths:5
Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach in the Big Bend region of Florida as a strong Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph. Idalia was the strongest hurricane to hit the Big Bend region in more than 125 years. Storm surge was about 8 feet above ground at Cedar Key, which caused heavy damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure. Other Big Bend coastal communities were also inundated by storm surge. Idalia produced 5 to 10 inches of rainfall across the Big Bend region of Florida and southeastern portions of Georgia and the Carolinas. The relatively low population density of the Big Bend region helped to reduce the physical exposure and damage costs. Significant flooding was reported in downtown Charleston, SC and nearby Edisto Beach. There was also 2 to 4 feet of storm surge along the Carolina coastline, which was exacerbated by the full moon and high tide cycle.
Severe storm

Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:4
More than one thousand reports of high wind, severe hail or tornadoes across many Northeastern and Eastern states. August 7 was a prolific day of severe weather with damage reports from Georgia to New York. These storms caused impacts to many homes, vehicles, businesses, agriculture and other infrastructure.
Severe storm

Central and Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$4.0B
Deaths:5
Severe storms produce over one thousand reports of damaging weather across Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Ohio. Among these reports were over 70 preliminary tornadoes including an EF-3 tornado in Louin, Mississippi. This combination of high winds, hail and tornadoes caused damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, agriculture and other infrastructure. The damage was most focused in Oklahoma.
Severe storm

Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$4.3B
Numerous southern states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina and Florida were impacted by hail, tornadoes and high winds. These storms caused damage to many homes, vehicles and businesses across several days of severe storm activity.
Severe storm

Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.4B
Southern severe weather across Texas, Georgia and Florida. Considerable hail and wind damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles and other infrastructure.
Severe storm

Central and Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.4B
Several central and southern states including Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle were impacted by hail, tornadoes and high winds. These storms caused damage to many homes, vehicles and businesses.
Flooding

Fort Lauderdale Flash Flood

Cost:$1.2B
Historical rainfall and flash flooding inundated Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas with over 25 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours. This resulted in many flooded homes, vehicles and businesses. The Fort Lauderdale Airport also closed on April 13 due to the flooding.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Nicole

Cost:$1.1B
Deaths:5
Category 1 Hurricane Nicole made landfall at North Hutchinson Island, Florida producing heavy rain, flooding and coastal erosion. Many of the Florida counties and communities impacted by Nicole were still recovering from the high wind and flooding impacts of Hurricane Ian several weeks earlier. This compounded the existing damage and recovery timeline. Nicole was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida during November since Hurricane Kate in 1985.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Ian

Cost:$123.0B
Deaths:152
Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida, as a Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph.
Severe storm

Southeast Tornado Outbreak

Cost:$1.6B
Deaths:3
A tornado outbreak on April 4-6 with a combined 100 preliminary tornadoes reported. The tornadoes occurred across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Many of these tornadoes were clustered along the southern regions of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. During this three-day period many of these tornadoes were rated as either EF-1 or EF-0, but there were also nine EF-2, three EF-3 and one EF-4 tornado. This EF-4 occurred in Pembroke, Georgia on April 5th with winds of 185 mph that destroyed several neighborhoods. Many of the other tornadoes across the South caused considerable damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, and other infrastructure.
Severe storm

Southern Tornado Outbreak

Cost:$1.4B
Deaths:2
An outbreak of 83 tornadoes was focused across the Gulf Coast states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Nicholas

Cost:$1.2B
Category 1 Hurricane Nicholas made landfall near Sargent Beach, Texas on September 14 and moved slowly toward Louisiana over the next several days. This slow progression helped to produce flooding rainfall across regions of the Gulf Coast that were already saturated from Hurricane Ida.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Ida

Cost:$87.5B
Deaths:96
Category 4 Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 930 mb. Ida was one of three hurricanes in recorded history to make landfall in Louisiana with 150 mph winds, along with Hurricane Laura in 2020 and the 'Last Island' hurricane of 1856. Grand Isle, Louisiana took a direct hit with 100% of its homes damaged and nearly 40% were nearly-to-completely destroyed. There was heavy damage to the energy infrastructure across southern Louisiana causing widespread, long duration power outages to millions of people. Parts of New Orleans were without power for nearly a week due to the widespread damage. As the remnants of Ida moved into the Northeast it merged with a frontal system creating severe weather and flash flooding across a wide region from eastern Pennsylvania to New York. Flash flood emergencies were declared in New Jersey and New York for the first time, producing damage to homes, businesses, vehicles and infrastructure while also causing dozens of fatalities.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Fred

Cost:$1.5B
Deaths:7
Tropical Storm Fred made landfall near Panama City, Florida. As Fred progressed northward it caused torrential flooding across the southern Appalachian Mountains with more than a foot of rainfall reported in some locations of western North Carolina. This flash flooding caused damage to many homes, businesses, vehicles, roads and bridges, in additional to several fatalities. Fred also produced nearly a dozen tornadoes across the Northeast as it moved up the East Coast.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Elsa

Cost:$1.5B
Deaths:1
Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Taylor County, Florida producing heavy rain, wind, flooding and tornadoes in portions of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as flooding across parts of the Northeast. Southern New England and New York's Long Island experienced flash flooding, leading to impassable roads, stranded vehicles and disruption. Elsa was the earliest fifth-named storm on record.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Eta

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:12
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall in the Florida Keys on November 8 followed by a second landfall near Cedar Key on the west coast of Florida on November 10. Eta produced wind and heavy rain impacts in southern Florida. These impacts continued well inland, as Eta's energy merged with a cold front across several eastern states. This combination produced extreme rainfall across North Carolina and Virginia, which led to significant flooding that damaged homes, businesses and infrastructure. This flooding also caused one dozen fatalities.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Sally

Cost:$9.2B
Deaths:5
Hurricane Sally was a category 2 hurricane at landfall in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Wind gusts up to 100 mph and 20-30 inches of rainfall caused considerable flood and wind damage across Alabama, the Florida panhandle and into Georgia. Many homes and businesses in downtown Pensacola, FL were impacted from flooding produced by storm surge and heavy rainfall. 2020 is now the fourth consecutive year (2017-2020) that the U.S. has been impacted by a slow moving tropical cyclone that produced extreme rainfall and damaging floods - Harvey, Florence, Imelda and Sally.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Isaias

Cost:$6.0B
Deaths:16
Hurricane Isaias made landfall in southeastern North Carolina as a category 1 storm. Isaias accelerated up the East Coast, resulting in widespread damage and power outages across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There was also considerable inland flooding most notably in Pennsylvania. In addition, 34 tornadoes developed across North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey due to Isaias. Many tornadoes were weaker (EF-0 and EF-1) producing scattered damage to agriculture, structures and residences. Isaias also produced several EF-2 tornadoes and one EF-3 tornado that caused damage in coastal North Carolina and Virginia.
Severe storm

South, Central and Eastern Severe Weather

Cost:$2.0B
Deaths:2
A combination of thunderstorm high winds, hail and tornadoes affected numerous Southern, Central and Eastern states. The states most affected included Texas, Illinois and North Carolina with damage to homes, businesses and vehicles. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
Severe storm

Southern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.7B
Deaths:3
Severe weather caused damage across many Southern states. The states most affected from a combination of high winds, hail and tornadoes included Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Virginia. The states with the highest damage totals for the event were Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas.
Severe storm

Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak

Cost:$4.4B
Deaths:35
Outbreak of at least 140 tornadoes from Texas to Maryland including 3 EF4s, 12 EF3s, 20 EF2s, 77 EF1s and 28 EF0s. Damage was extensive and highly destructive to many homes, vehicles and businesses across more than a dozen Southeast and Eastern states.
Severe storm

South, East and Northeast Severe Weather

Cost:$1.6B
Deaths:3
Severe weather across many South, East and Northeastern states including AL, FL, GA, SC, LA, MS, TN, NC, VA, PA, RI, NY, NJ, MD and MA. There were more than 20 tornadoes clustered across central Mississippi into Tennessee. There were also hundreds of high wind damage reports from Florida to New Jersey, with the Carolinas and Florida receiving the most costly damage.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Dorian

Cost:$2.0B
Deaths:10
Category 1 hurricane makes landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, after devastating the northern Bahama Islands as a historically-powerful and slow-moving hurricane. Dorian tracked offshore parallel to the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coastline before making a North Carolina landfall, bringing a destructive sound-side surge that inundated many coastal properties and isolated residents who did not evacuate. Significant flood, severe storm, and tornado damage to many homes and businesses occurred on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Dorian's intensification to a category 5 storm marks the fourth consecutive year, in which a maximum category 5 storm developed in the Atlantic basin - a new record. Dorian also tied the record for maximum sustained wind speed for a landfalling hurricane (185 mph) in the Atlantic, a record shared with the historic 1935 Labor Day Hurricane.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Michael

Cost:$32.2B
Deaths:49
Powerful category 5 hurricane made landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida with devastating winds of 160 mph and storm surge in excess of 15 feet. Mexico Beach was nearly destroyed, while Panama City suffered extensive damage. Florida's Tyndall Air Force Base also suffered a direct strike from Michael's most intense eye wall winds causing billions in damage costs. Michael's intense winds also reached well inland causing billions in damage costs to agriculture and forestry, as high winds hit during harvest season for numerous crops across several states. Michael is the third category 4 or higher storm to make landfall in the U.S. since 2017. Michael is the first category 5 to strike the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and is only the fourth on record. The others are the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) and Hurricane Camille (1969). Michael was initially rated as a category 4 with 155 winds but upgraded to a category 5 with 160 mph winds upon further analysis.
Severe storm

Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather

Cost:$1.7B
Deaths:3
Tornadoes and severe storms with large hail cause widespread damage across many Southern and Eastern states (AR, FL, GA, LA, MD, MI, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, TX, VA) over a multi-day period. There were over 70 confirmed tornadoes largely clustered in Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. This same system also caused winter storm impacts of high wind and ice accumulation in northeastern states.
Severe storm

Southeastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather

Cost:$1.9B
A potent severe storm system caused over 20 tornadoes across Alabama and also widespread hail damage from Texas to Florida. Most notably this system produced an EF-3 tornado that caused extensive damage in Jacksonville, Alabama and across the campus of Jacksonville State University.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Irma

Cost:$66.0B
Deaths:97
Category 4 hurricane made landfall at Cudjoe Key, Florida after devastating the U.S. Virgin Islands - St John and St Thomas - as a category 5 storm. The Florida Keys were heavily impacted, as 25% of buildings were destroyed while 65% were significantly damaged. Severe wind and storm surge damage also occurred along the coasts of Florida and South Carolina. Jacksonville, FL and Charleston, SC received near-historic levels of storm surge causing significant coastal flooding. Irma maintained a maximum sustained wind of 185 mph for 37 hours, the longest in the satellite era. Irma also was a category 5 storm for longer than all other Atlantic hurricanes except Ivan in 2004.
Severe storm

Southeast Severe Weather and Tornadoes

Cost:$1.3B
Deaths:1
Severe weather and tornadoes impact numerous southern and eastern states. The states most impacted include Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky.
Freeze

Southeast Freeze

Cost:$1.4B
Severe freeze heavily damaged fruit crops across several southeastern states (SC, GA, NC, TN, AL, MS, FL, KY, VA). Mid-March freezes are not climatologically unusual in the Southeast, however many crops were blooming 3+ weeks early due to unusually warm temperatures during the preceding weeks. Damage was most severe in Georgia and South Carolina. Crops most impacted include peaches, blueberries, strawberries and apples, among others.
Severe storm

Southern Tornado Outbreak and Western Storms

Cost:$1.5B
Deaths:24
High wind damage occurred across southern California near San Diego followed by 79 confirmed tornadoes during an outbreak across many southern states including AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC and TX. This was the 3rd most tornadoes to occur in a single outbreak of extreme weather during a winter month (Dec.-Feb.) based on records from 1950.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Matthew

Cost:$13.5B
Deaths:49
Category 1 hurricane made landfall in North Carolina, after it paralleled the Southeast coast along Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas causing widespread damage from wind, storm surge and inland flooding. The most costly impacts were due to historic levels of river flooding in eastern North Carolina where 100,000 homes, businesses and other structures were damaged. This inland flooding was comparable to Hurricane Floyd (1999) that also impacted eastern North Carolina. Matthew narrowly missed landall on Florida's east coast as a powerful category 4 storm.
Severe storm

North/Central Texas Hail Storm

Cost:$4.8B
Widespread severe hail damage across north and central Texas including the cities of Plano, Wylie, Frisco, Allen and San Antonio. The damage in San Antonio was particularly severe as the National Weather Service verified reports of hail size reaching 4.5 inches in diameter. This ranks as one of the most costly hail events to affect the United States.
Severe storm

Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes

Cost:$1.4B
Deaths:10
Early outbreak of tornadoes and severe weather across many southern and eastern states including (AL, CT, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, SC, TX, VA). There were at least 50 confirmed tornadoes causing widespread damage.
Severe storm

South and Southeast Severe Weather

Cost:$1.3B
Deaths:3
Severe weather produced tornadoes, large hail and high wind damage across numerous southern and southeastern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. These storms caused widespread impacts to many homes, vehicles and businesses.
Severe storm

South/Southeast Severe Weather

Cost:$1.8B
Severe storms across the South and Southeastern states (AL, AR, FL, GA, KS, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX). High winds and severe hail created the most significant damage in Texas.
Severe storm

Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding

Cost:$2.4B
Deaths:33
Tornado outbreak across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast states (AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KS, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA) with 83 confirmed tornadoes. Mississippi had its 3rd greatest number of tornadoes reported for any day since 1950. Torrential rainfall in the Florida panhandle also caused major flooding, as Pensacola set new 1-day and 2-day precipitation records of 15.55 and 20.47 inches, respectively. Flooding rains were also reported in coastal Alabama, as Mobile received 11.24 inches of rain, the third greatest calendar day rainfall total for the city.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Isaac

Cost:$3.9B
Deaths:9
Category 1 hurricane made landfall over Louisiana. Isaac's slow motion and large size led to a large storm surge and flooding rains. This created damage across several southeastern states (LA, MS, AL, FL) including 9 deaths (5 direct, 4 indirect).
Wildfire

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona Wildfires

Cost:$2.6B
Deaths:5
Continued drought conditions and periods of extreme heat provided conditions favorable for a series of historic wildfires across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The Bastrop Fire in Texas was the most destructive fire in Texas history destroying over 1,500 homes. The Wallow Fire consumed over 500,000 acres in Arizona making it the largest on record in Arizona. The Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico was also the state's largest wildfire on record scorching over 150,000 acres while threatening the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Over 3 million acres have burned across Texas this wildfire season.
Drought

Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave

Cost:$17.7B
Deaths:95
Drought and heat wave conditions created major impacts across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Kansas, and western Louisiana. In Texas and Oklahoma, a majority of range and pastures were classified in "very poor" condition for much of the 2011 crop growing season.
Wildfire

U.S. Wildfires

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:16
Drought conditions across numerous western, central and southeastern states (AK, AZ, CA, NM, ID, UT, MT, NV, OR, WA, CO, TX, OK, NC, FL ) resulted in thousands of wildfires; national acreage burned exceeding 5.2 million acres (mainly in the west) and over 1,000 homes and structures destroyed in California fires alone.
Drought

Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave

Cost:$5.7B
Deaths:15
Severe drought with periods of extreme heat over most of the southeast and portions of the Great Plains, Ohio Valley, and Great Lakes area, resulting in major reductions in crop yields, along with very low stream-flows and lake levels. Includes states of ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, MN, WI, IA, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, NC, SC, FL, TN, VA, WV, KY, IN, IL, OH, MI, PA, NY.
Wildfire

Western Wildfires

Cost:$4.3B
Deaths:12
Continued drought conditions and high winds over much of the western U.S. (AK, AZ, CA, ID, UT, MT, NV, OR, WA) resulting in numerous wildfires; with national acreage burned exceeding 8.9 million acres (mainly in the west) and over 3,000 homes and structures destroyed in southern California alone.
Wildfire

Numerous Wildfires

Cost:$2.4B
Deaths:28
Numerous wildfires driven by dry weather and high winds burned over 9.8 million acres, across the western half of the country including Alaska. This is the second highest annual total behind the 10.1 million acres burned in 2015 since record-keeping began in 1960. The most affected states were AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, MT, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, WA, WY
Drought

Midwest/Plains/Southeast Drought

Cost:$9.9B
Rather severe drought affected crops especially during the spring-summer, centered over the Great Plains region with other areas affected across portions of the south -- including states of ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX, MN, IA, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, MT, WY, CO, NM.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Wilma

Cost:$31.2B
Deaths:35
Category 3 hurricane hits SW Florida resulting in strong damaging winds and major flooding across southeastern Florida. Prior to landfall, Wilma as a Category 5 recorded the lowest pressure (882 mb) ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Rita

Cost:$30.3B
Deaths:119
Category 3 hurricane hits Texas-Louisiana border coastal region, creating significant storm surge and wind damage along the coast, and some inland flooding in the FL panhandle, AL, MS, LA, AR, and TX. Prior to landfall, Rita reached the third lowest pressure (897 mb) ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Katrina

Cost:$207.6B
Deaths:1833
Category 3 hurricane initially impacts the U.S. as a Category 1 near Miami, FL, then as a strong Category 3 along the eastern LA-western MS coastlines, resulting in severe storm surge damage (maximum surge probably exceeded 30 feet) along the LA-MS-AL coasts, wind damage, and the failure of parts of the levee system in New Orleans. Inland effects included high winds and some flooding in the states of AL, MS, FL, TN, KY, IN, OH, and GA.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Dennis

Cost:$4.2B
Deaths:15
Category 3 hurricane makes landfall in western Florida panhandle resulting in storm surge and wind damage along the FL and AL coasts, along with scattered wind and flood damage in GA and MS.
Severe storm

Southeast Severe Weather

Cost:$1.5B
Severe storms cause widespread hail damage across numerous states including TX, AL, MS, GA, FL, NC and VA.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Jeanne

Cost:$12.9B
Deaths:28
Category 3 hurricane makes landfall in east-central Florida, causing considerable wind, storm surge, and flooding damage in FL, with some flood damage also in the states of GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, PA, and NY. Puerto Rico also affected.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Ivan

Cost:$35.3B
Deaths:57
Category 3 hurricane makes landfall on Gulf coast of Alabama, with significant wind, storm surge, and flooding damage in coastal AL and FL panhandle, along with wind/flood damage in the states of GA, MS, LA, SC, NC, VA, WV, MD, TN, KY, OH, DE, NJ, PA, and NY.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Frances

Cost:$16.9B
Deaths:48
Category 2 hurricane makes landfall in east-central Florida, causing significant wind, storm surge, and flooding damage in FL, along with considerable flood damage in the states of GA, SC, NC, and NY due to 5-15 inch rains.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Charley

Cost:$27.5B
Deaths:35
Category 4 hurricane makes landfall in southwest Florida, resulting in major wind and some storm surge damage in FL, along with some damage in the states of SC and NC.
Severe storm

Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:7
Derecho across several southern states with the most focused damage across the Memphis, Tennessee metro area. Severe storms impact states across the South, Southeast, Midwest and Northeast regions including AR, AL, MS, GA, FL, SC, TN, KY, MI, NY, OH, PA and VT.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Isidore

Cost:$2.1B
Deaths:5
Tropical Storm Isidore caused heavy rain, flooding, tornadoes and coastal storm surge that impacted Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Rainfall exceeded 15 inches across southern Louisiana with storm surge over 8 feet.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Allison

Cost:$15.7B
Deaths:43
The persistent remnants of Tropical Storm Allison produce rainfall amounts of 30-40 inches in portions of coastal Texas and Louisiana, causing severe flooding especially in the Houston area, then moves slowly northeastward; fatalities and significant damage reported in TX, LA, MS, FL, VA, and PA
Drought

Western/Central/Southeast Drought/Heat Wave

Cost:$9.7B
Deaths:140
Western/Central/Southeast Drought/Heat Wave. The states impacted include AZ, AL, AR, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, KS, LA, MS, MT, NE, NM, OK, OR, SC, TN, and TX.
Flooding

South Florida Flooding

Cost:$1.7B
Deaths:3
Heavy rainfall up to 15 inches affected south Florida surrounding Miami that resulted in severe flooding that damaged thousands of homes and businesses. There was also several hundred million in damage done to agriculture.
Drought

Eastern Drought/Heat Wave

Cost:$5.0B
Deaths:502
Very dry summer and high temperatures, mainly in eastern U.S., with extensive agricultural losses. The states impacted include AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, SC, TN, VA, WV and PA.
Severe storm

Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes

Cost:$4.0B
Deaths:55
Outbreak of F4-F5 tornadoes hit the states of Oklahoma and Kansas, along with Texas and Tennessee, Oklahoma City area hardest hit.
Winter storm

Central and Eastern Winter Storm

Cost:$2.0B
Deaths:25
South, Southeast, Midwest, Northeast affected by damaging winter storm
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Georges

Cost:$12.0B
Deaths:16
Category 2 hurricane strikes Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Florida Keys, and Gulf coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida panhandle, 15-30 inch 2-day rain totals in parts of Alabama and Florida
Drought

Southern Drought and Heat Wave

Cost:$7.1B
Deaths:200
Severe drought and heat wave from Texas/Oklahoma eastward to the Carolinas. The states impacted include AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA.
Severe storm

Western/Eastern Severe Weather and Flooding

Cost:$2.0B
Deaths:132
Tornadoes and flooding cause damage across the West and Southeast. The states impacted include CA, TX, FL, AL, GA, LA, MS, NC and SC.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Opal

Cost:$10.0B
Deaths:27
Category 3 hurricane strikes Florida panhandle, Alabama, western Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western Carolinas, causing storm surge, wind, and flooding damage.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Erin

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:6
Hurricane Erin impacted Florida as a category 1 hurricane. Most of the damage resulted from heavy rainfall and flooding in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
Tropical cyclone

Tropical Storm Alberto

Cost:$2.2B
Deaths:32
Remnants of slow-moving Alberto bring torrential 10-25 inch rains in 3 days, widespread flooding and agricultural damage in parts of Georgia, Alabama, and panhandle of Florida.
Drought

Southeast Drought and Heat Wave

Cost:$2.9B
Deaths:16
Drought and heat wave across Southeastern U.S. The states most impacted include AL, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, TN, and VA.
Winter storm

East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather

Cost:$12.6B
Deaths:270
The "Storm of the Century" impacts the entire Eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. This historic storm dumped 2-4 feet of snow and caused hurricane force winds across many Eastern and Northeastern states. This caused power outages to over 10 million households. Additional impacts included numerous tornadoes across Florida causing substantial damage. This was the most destructive and costly winter storm to affect the United States (since 1980), until it was surpassed by the February 2021 winter storm and cold wave.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Andrew

Cost:$62.6B
Deaths:61
Category 5 hurricane hits Florida and later impacts Louisiana as a category 3. High winds damage or destroy over 125,000 homes and leave at least 160,000 people temporarily homeless in Dade County, Florida alone. Initially rated as a category 4, Andrew was later upgraded to a category 5 upon further analysis. Andrew is one of four land falling category 5 hurricanes on record to affect the U.S. mainland in addition to Hurricane Camille (1969), the Labor Day Hurricane (1935) and Hurricane Michael (2018). Building codes in Florida were enhanced after Andrew to mitigate future hurricane wind damage.
Severe storm

Severe Storms

Cost:$1.9B
Severe storms affect the South, Southeast. The states most impacted include Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
Winter storm

Winter Storm, Cold Wave

Cost:$1.8B
Deaths:100
Winter storm and deep cold impacts the Northeast, South and Southeast. The states impacted include AL, AR, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MO, MS, NC, NH, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT and WV.
Freeze

Florida Freeze

Cost:$5.4B
Deaths:10
Severe freeze damages citrus crops across central/northern Florida.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Juan

Cost:$4.5B
Deaths:63
Category 1 hurricane makes landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana. Hurricane Juan's slow movement causes severe flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Southern Louisiana was most severely affected due to widespread rainfall of 10-15 inches that caused substantial flooding.
Tropical cyclone

Hurricane Elena

Cost:$3.9B
Deaths:4
Category 3 hurricane approaches the Florida Panhandle prior to landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi. Considerable wind and rain impacts were felt from Florida to Louisiana.
Winter storm

Winter Storm, Cold Wave

Cost:$2.6B
Deaths:150
Extreme cold and winter storms in the Southeast, South, Southwest, Northeast, Midwest, and North
Freeze

Florida Freeze

Cost:$3.7B
Severe freeze over central/northern Florida damages citrus crops.
Severe storm

Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods

Cost:$1.9B
Deaths:80
States in the Southeast and Northeast regions are impacted by tornadoes, severe storms, and flooding. The states impacted include GA, FL, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA and RI.
Freeze

Freeze/Cold Wave

Cost:$6.7B
Deaths:151
Severe freeze damages citrus crops across central/northern Florida. Associated cold wave over much of the U.S. causes over 100 deaths and additional damages.
Flooding

Gulf States Storms and Flooding

Cost:$5.1B
Deaths:45
Severe storms and flooding, especially in the states of TX, AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, and FL
Winter storm

Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave

Cost:$2.3B
Deaths:85
Winter storm and cold wave affect numerous states (AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV) across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast.
Freeze

Florida Freeze

Cost:$2.1B
Severe freeze heavily damaged fruit crops across Florida. Over 25,000 Florida farms were impacted and sustained losses.
Showing 98 events

About State-Level Data

State-level summaries and charts on this page are derived from authoritative data that assigns costs to each affected state for every billion-dollar disaster. Those state-specific costs are shown only as binned ranges. The event cards and table list each disaster's full event cost rather than an exact state allocation.

Climate Central maintains this comprehensive database tracking U.S. weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including Consumer Price Index adjustment). As the steward of this dataset, Climate Central is committed to maintaining the scientific rigor and methodological standards established by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) while enhancing the dataset's utility for climate communication and public understanding of climate risks.

For more information on methodology and data sources, please visit the main Billion-Dollar Disasters page.