Every $5 billion (plus) weather event since 2020

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Hurricane Beryl, fueled in part by exceptionally warm ocean temperatures, pounded southern Jamaica on Wednesday afternoon, leaving a trail of destruction, including damaged houses and downed power lines. The first hurricane of the season continued to the Cayman Islands, where it is expected to cause widespread damage as well. And according to the most recent advisory from the National Hurricane Center (as of this writing), “Hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge, and heavy rainfall are also expected over portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize."

While it is uncertain whether the storm would reach the U.S., according to the holiday weekend weather forecast , there could be record-breaking high temperatures in parts of the country, while in others parts there could be severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes. The heat and wild storms and tornadoes could prove devastating, whether by damaging property, harming human life, or exacerbating other conditions.

In the 1980s, there were 33 weather events that caused at least $1 billion in damages (inflation adjusted) -- or 3.3 per year. With each decade passing, the yearly average of such events increases. In the 1990s, there were 5.7 such events per year on average, in the aughts the average was 6.7 per year, in the 2010s it was 13.1, and in the last three years it was 22 billion-dollar events per year, including 28 in 2023 -- the most of any year.

Not only the number of events is increasing, but also the damages they are causing. If in the 1980s the annual cost of such disasters was about $22 billion, it reached nearly $99 billion per year in the 2010s, and a whopping $145 billion a year in the last three years. Also, since 2020, there have been 20 weather events that caused over $5 billion in damages. (Also see, Ranking the Most Powerful Hurricanes of All Time .)

To identify these five-billion-dollar weather disasters, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information report, Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2024) . The 20 events are listed in order of the estimated cost of the damages, adjusted for inflation. Two of the events are winter storms, three are wildfires, four are droughts, five are severe storms, and six are tropical cyclones.

Why this matters

According to scientific studies, extreme weather events, including heat waves, large storms, flooding, drought, and others are likely to become more frequent or more intense as a result of climate change -- human-induced rise in the global average temperature. With the U.S. being one of the wealthier countries, damages from extreme weather events are also more expensive (as opposed to less populated or less developed areas).

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