| • 27 storms costing a total of $182.7 billion in damage battered the U.S. in 2024. |
| • Texas is the national storm epicenter and has suffered a staggering 190 billion–dollar storms since 1980. |
| • As serious weather events become increasingly prevalent, storm preparedness is crucial. |
In 2024, 27 storms, each costing over a billion dollars in damage, struck the United States. These included 17 severe storms involving tornadoes, high winds, and hail, five tropical cyclones, two major winter storms, one wildfire, and one heat wave-led drought. The total cost of the 27 storms was an estimated $182.7 billion dollars.
This study considers the main storm-hit parts of the United States, with Texas the clear national storm epicenter. Drawing on NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database, we track events from 1980 to the present day to consider the broad mortal and financial cost of the hundreds of severe weather events that have battered the country during that period. And we provide some strategies that everyone susceptible to a severe storm needs to prepare for such an event.
By looking at storm data from 1980 onwards, we can take a full measure of the catastrophic effects extreme weather has wrought on the U.S., and the numbers are shocking.
To identify which states have faced the most billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, this study draws on data from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database.
Events from 1980 through 2024 were reviewed, and each was counted for every state that NOAA listed as a primary area of impact. States were then ranked by the total number of billion–dollar events affecting them during that period. Rankings are based solely on event frequency, not total economic loss or fatalities. This approach provides a consistent way to compare exposure to major weather events across the country.
United States Storm Data (1980-2024)
Between 1980 and 2024, 403 storms that each cost over a billion dollars in damage devastated the United States. Cumulatively, the 403 storms caused 16,941 deaths and cost over $2.9 trillion dollars.
Those billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have wreaked havoc on every U.S. region, but some states have borne the brunt far more than others.
In particular, Texas has suffered a prolonged extreme weather onslaught and has been subject to far more (190) separate billion-dollar events. This reflects the state’s unique exposure to hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and severe storms.
Though some way behind, Georgia (134 billion-dollar weather events) is the state next most affected by storms and other extreme weather events, with Illinois (128) ranking third, numbers that demonstrate the extent to which the Midwest has faced significant severe weather damage.
North Carolina (121 billion-dollar weather events) and Missouri (120) round out the top five most-affected states, both disproportionately affected by a mix of tropical systems and inland storms.
Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia (all having suffered 116 billion-dollar weather disasters), Oklahoma (115), and Pennsylvania (114) make up the remainder of the ten most affected states.
This spread of events underscores the fact that billion-dollar storms are not restricted to coastal states or hurricane-prone regions: they also frequently hit inland areas. Yet an overlap of tornado activity, powerful convective storms, and severe flooding has made much of the South and Midwest recurring epicenters for devastation.
Collectively, the data confirming the top ten states for severe weather disasters across the U.S. since 1980 establishes a stark fact. Significant and costly events are steadily rising in number and ferocity, and now affect a wider span of the country than ever before.
The data also emphasizes how vulnerable U.S. infrastructure, agriculture, and communities remain to extreme weather and why preparing for severe weather events is essential.
To narrow our focus on extreme weather hotspots, let’s now consider which states suffer most from individual types of devastating storms.
Leading States For Different Types of Extreme Storm
When we consider the states topping the charts for each type of billion-dollar storm from 1980 to 2024, Texas leads by a significant margin for severe storms (126 billion-dollar events) and ranks joint top for droughts (20, the same number as Kansas).
In the tropical cyclone category, Florida has suffered the most (36 major events), reflecting the state’s incessant exposure to hurricanes and tropical systems.
New York leads for winter storms (21 major events), due to its vulnerability to nor’easters, heavy snowfall, and icy conditions.
And Louisiana holds the record for most examples of severe flooding (10 billion-dollar events), susceptible due to its low-lying geography and proximity to major rivers and the Gulf Coast.
Data was sourced from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database, which tracks U.S. events causing at least $1 billion in damages (inflation-adjusted) from 1980–2024.
For each disaster type, severe storms, tropical cyclones, droughts, winter storms, and flooding, we identified the state most frequently listed as a primary impact area. Event counts were verified against NOAA’s regional summaries to ensure accuracy.
Nonetheless, those top-ranking state numbers don’t cover the whole story. States that consistently appear just behind the leaders in each category also illustrate the extent to which risk spreads across regions.
Illinois (92), Missouri (82), Oklahoma (76), and Indiana (72) all rank among the top five for severe storms. When it comes to tropical cyclones, North Carolina (31), Georgia (27), Louisiana (27), and Virginia (23) all closely follow Florida’s leading numbers.
For states suffering the highest number of severe winter storms, Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (19), New Jersey (18), and Connecticut (17) are very close to leading state New York. Oklahoma (18), Georgia (17), and Arkansas (17) drought numbers are not far behind leaders Texas and Kansas, with Missouri (9), Texas (9), Arkansas (9), and Illinois (8) numbers illustrative of wide severe flood risk.
Overall, these patterns confirm that climate risk in the United States is far from simple, with states leading in one disaster category often significantly vulnerable in others.
The intersection between severe storms, drought, flooding, and tropical systems means many states endure multiple overlapping risks, especially in the South, Midwest, and coastal areas. Such a level of overlapping risk means that preparedness and resilience efforts can’t focus on isolated weather event types. States need to be ready for an eclectic range of possible threats, any of which could cause a wide range of damage.
Measuring the Damage
Since 1980, billion-dollar weather disasters have profoundly affected the American landscape, reshaped countless communities, and seriously depleted the national economy.
Hurricanes have battered coastal regions from Texas to the Carolinas, leaving behind miles of submerged neighborhoods, shattered homes, and devastated infrastructure. Storms like Katrina, Harvey, and Ian have meant that large cities have needed months and even years to recover.
Inland states have also suffered, with severe thunderstorms and tornado outbreaks destroying countless small towns, local industries, and forest regions across the Midwest.
Persistent droughts across the South and West have also turned once-productive farmland into arid terrain and emptied reservoirs, with subsequent water restrictions impacting both agriculture and daily life. Drought has also fueled record-breaking wildfires, consumed millions of acres of forest, and caused billions in property damage.
The Northeast and upper Midwest have endured frequent and prolonged winter storms, with blizzards and ice events shutting down transportation networks, crippling power grids, and causing widespread property damage. Flooding has repeatedly swamped river valleys and low-lying communities, damaging homes, roads, levees, and crops.
Since 1980, these events have cost the United States more than $2.9 trillion in damages and claimed nearly 17,000 lives. Beyond the staggering losses to both human life and civic and national finances, the storms have left deep, evolving social and emotional scars.
The severe weather events in question have displaced millions, disrupted the education of countless young Americans, and sorely tested the resilience of nationwide emergency response systems.
For all these reasons and more, preparing for the next significant weather event is crucial.
How To Prepare For Disaster
As serious American weather events become both more frequent and more unpredictable, being prepared can make the difference between safety and disaster.
Here are some of the things you should do to prepare (if you haven’t already).
- Sign up for emergency alerts via your local government, FEMA’s app, or a NOAA Weather Radio that can broadcast during power outages.
- Build an emergency kit (that everyone in your household knows where to find) stocked with a minimum three-day supply of water (one gallon per person per day), sufficient non-perishable food, flashlights, extra batteries, a portable phone charger, necessary medication, pet supplies, and copies of identification or insurance documents, all sealed in waterproof bags.
- Create a family communication and evacuation plan that includes designated meeting spots and contact numbers in case cell phone service is down.
- If you live in an area at high risk of hurricanes, tornadoes, or flooding, identify safe zones (such as interior rooms without windows, underground shelters, or higher ground).
- Before an incoming storm hits, secure outdoor items, clear gutters and drains, and find out (if you don’t know) how to shut off gas, water, and electricity in case authorities advise you to do so.
- During the event, avoid unnecessary travel, and never drive on flooded roads. Just six inches of moving water can knock over an adult, while a foot of water can sweep away a car.
- Once the worst of an event has passed, stay vigilant: keep an eye out for downed power lines, structural damage, and contaminated floodwaters.
Being prepared is about empowerment, not trepidation. Having a plan in place and sufficient supplies ready means you can protect your loved ones, stay calm if an event occurs, and recover faster when the event is over.
Summary
Between 1980 and 2024, the United States weathered $2.9 trillion dollars’ worth of devastating storms. In that time, according to NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters Database, 403 major national weather and climate events claimed 16,941 lives. These numbers reflect the growing frequency and ferocity of extreme weather and the rising cost of recovery.
In 2024 alone, the U.S. suffered a record-breaking 27 billion-dollar weather disasters that caused $182.7 billion dollars of damage. Among them were 17 severe storms, five tropical cyclones, two major winter storms, a wildfire, a drought, and a heat wave.
Over the 1980–2024 period, although every state has been affected, some have suffered disproportionate climate havoc, none more so than Texas.
The Lone Star State has borne the brunt of the country’s growing susceptibility to extreme weather events, enduring 190 separate billion-dollar events during the period in question, reflecting its vulnerability to hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and severe convective storms. Georgia (134), Illinois (128), North Carolina (121), and Missouri (120) round out the top five afflicted states.
Other states hit by over a hundred billion-dollar disasters include Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, a countrywide distribution illustrating how extreme weather strikes inland communities as well as coastal regions.
A closer look at storm types underscores the variety of risks Americans face. Texas suffers most when it comes to severe storms (126 events), whereas Florida leads for tropical cyclones (36 events) due to its hurricane-prone coastline.
New York ranks highest for winter storms (21 events), Texas and Kansas tie for droughts (20 each), and Louisiana tops the list for flooding (10 events). Meanwhile, states like Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma rank high across multiple categories, emphasizing the overlapping risks those regions face.
The increasing severity and number of serious weather events carry a communal as well as a financial toll. Hurricanes have devastated coastal infrastructure, tornadoes have leveled neighborhoods, droughts have decimated farmland, and wildfires have torn through millions of acres. U.S. communities from California to the Carolinas must continually rebuild.
Texas has been subject to 190 separate billion–dollar events, reflecting the state’s unique exposure to hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, and severe storms
So being prepared for weather event emergencies has never been as essential. Experts recommend a three-day emergency kit: one gallon of water per person per day, non-perishable food, flashlights, extra batteries, medications, pet supplies, and waterproof copies of important documents.
Additionally, families should create communication and evacuation plans in preparation for a severe event, designate safe rooms or shelters, secure outdoor items before storms arrive, avoid any travel, and monitor official alerts. If travel is unavoidable, driving through floodwaters (even shallow amounts) can be deadly.
From the drought-scorched plains of Kansas to hurricane-prone Florida and the storm-beaten Gulf Coast, the data is unequivocal: extreme weather is worsening and becoming more widespread. Preparation is no longer a choice: it’s the foundation for surviving the next billion-dollar storm.
At Barcus Arenas, PLLC, we’re dedicated to complex, high-value property damage disputes, representing commercial property owners, large residential clients, and businesses facing catastrophic losses. Get in touch with us today for more information.
