2022 already 5th most expensive year for weather, climate disasters

ORLANDO, Fla. – It has been a busy first half of the year with officially nine separate billion dollar weather disasters or climate events occurring in 2022.

For this time period between January through June, the 2022 disaster count ranks as the fifth highest year behind 2017, 2020, 2011 and 2021.

Billion-dollar disasters in 2022:

• Three severe weather events. (Midwest)
• Two tornado outbreaks. (Southeast)
• Two hail storms. (Midwest)
• A derecho event. (Midwest)
• A broad drought event. (West/Southern Plains)

As of June, the costliest event so far this year was a severe weather outbreak that swept across the South between April 11-13. This three-day outbreak had an estimated cost of $2.2 billion.

Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of eight people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information with NOAA.