Extreme weather events in the United States are becoming more frequent, more intense, and increasingly costly.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — As the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events in the United States are becoming more frequent, more intense, and increasingly costly.
From 1980 through 2024, the United States experienced 403 weather and climate disasters each costing $1 billion or more, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) now-discontinued Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database. These events claimed nearly 17,000 lives and resulted in more than $2.9 trillion in direct damages.
NOAA announced the end of updates to the database in May 2025. The 45 years of archived data tell a clear story about the rise in climate-related disasters. Ending this database limits access to information on the resulting human and economic toll.
The gap between billion-dollar disasters has shrunk dramatically over the last 4 decades. In the 1980’s, the average time between events was 82 days. Over the last 10 years, that number dropped to just 19 days, and in 2023 and 2024, the average time between events was only 12 days.
Having less time between disasters can strain the resources available for communities to respond, recover, and prepare for future risks.
Often, these risks aren’t equally shared. According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment: “Low-income communities, communities of color, and Tribes and Indigenous Peoples experience high exposure and vulnerability to extreme events due to both their proximity to hazard-prone areas and lack of adequate infrastructure or disaster management resources.”
NOAA’s billion-dollar disaster database include seven types of disasters: droughts, floods, freezes, severe storms, tropical cyclones, wildfires, and winter storms. Of all 403 billion-dollar disasters affecting the U.S. from 1980 to 2024, tropical cyclones (hurricanes and tropical storms) are the most costly. Severe storms are the most frequent.
During the spring and summer, severe storms and river floods are generally most common. During the later part of summer and into the fall wildfires and tropical cyclones are most common.
Every U.S. state has been affected by billion-dollar disasters. Between 1980 and 2024, South Carolina has been affected by 101 billion-disasters.
