Top 10 Weather Events: 2017
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 11:15 pm
As I do every year, this is my list for the top 10 weather events in the US in 2017. It featured quite a few blockbuster events, with the tropics and fires dominating.
I never considered whether to limit this to the 48 or 50 states, but for completeness and due to the media attention of the #1 story, this is for the entire country.
1 - Hurricane Maria: The disaster continues to unfold in Puerto Rico, and the death toll is unknown. Regardless, this was a defining catastrophe unseen in the US since Katrina with extreme wind, surge, rain and mudslides, even if it did minimal impact in the Lower 48 (September 19-21; aftermath ongoing)
2 - Hurricane Harvey: We watched in horror seeing a large area with millions of people get submerged; it made the initial landfall with extreme wind damage seem minor in comparison - likely the costliest storm all time, yet the human toll is dwarfed by Maria (late August to early September)
3 - California wildfires: I placed them all together here - numerous fires affected the state through the fall and continue to, with extensive devastation and significant loss of life right on the heels of the hurricanes (October to December)
4 - Hurricane Irma: Of the three huge hurricanes, this one may not have lived up to its full potential (in Florida), but still produced very widespread damage especially in the Keys, and also devastated the USVI (September 5-12)
5 - Western drought and fires: Almost forgotten after the hurricanes, the Dakotas and Montana went through a major drought throughout the warm season, and there were also severe fires in the northern Rockies in the summer that damaged many homes (April to September)
6 - January tornado outbreak: The tone for an active severe weather year was set with a deadly tornado outbreak in late January across the Southeast (likely Georgia's largest on record) (January 20-23)
7 - "Pi Day" blizzard: After a quite winter up to that point, Mother Nature makes up for lost time in mid-March with a major Northeast blizzard, particularly in the inland areas (March 12-15)
8 - California winter storms: While fires dominated the fall, it was a wet rainy season back in the winter, and parts of northern California faced severe flooding and a crisis over dam breach risks (February 8-23)
9 - March tornado outbreak and wind storm: A powerful early spring storm produced an unusually early tornado outbreak in the Midwest (mercifully didn't kill anyone), followed by a major damaging wind event in the Great Lakes (March 6-8)
10 - Mid-Mississippi Valley flooding: Heavy rain from multiple storms produced major flooding in AR, MO and IL in late April and early May; there were also some tornadoes with those storms farther south (April 21-May 7)
The lower half of the list was difficult to order and there were some honorable mentions that I could have included (the late February tornadoes, the western heat waves, Hurricane Nate, the hail events in Colorado and the Southeast snow in December were the first ones that came to mind) but those make up my top 10.
Globally, I would say the #1 event of 2017 was also Hurricane Maria, although it may be overtaken by Typhoon Tembin.
I never considered whether to limit this to the 48 or 50 states, but for completeness and due to the media attention of the #1 story, this is for the entire country.
1 - Hurricane Maria: The disaster continues to unfold in Puerto Rico, and the death toll is unknown. Regardless, this was a defining catastrophe unseen in the US since Katrina with extreme wind, surge, rain and mudslides, even if it did minimal impact in the Lower 48 (September 19-21; aftermath ongoing)
2 - Hurricane Harvey: We watched in horror seeing a large area with millions of people get submerged; it made the initial landfall with extreme wind damage seem minor in comparison - likely the costliest storm all time, yet the human toll is dwarfed by Maria (late August to early September)
3 - California wildfires: I placed them all together here - numerous fires affected the state through the fall and continue to, with extensive devastation and significant loss of life right on the heels of the hurricanes (October to December)
4 - Hurricane Irma: Of the three huge hurricanes, this one may not have lived up to its full potential (in Florida), but still produced very widespread damage especially in the Keys, and also devastated the USVI (September 5-12)
5 - Western drought and fires: Almost forgotten after the hurricanes, the Dakotas and Montana went through a major drought throughout the warm season, and there were also severe fires in the northern Rockies in the summer that damaged many homes (April to September)
6 - January tornado outbreak: The tone for an active severe weather year was set with a deadly tornado outbreak in late January across the Southeast (likely Georgia's largest on record) (January 20-23)
7 - "Pi Day" blizzard: After a quite winter up to that point, Mother Nature makes up for lost time in mid-March with a major Northeast blizzard, particularly in the inland areas (March 12-15)
8 - California winter storms: While fires dominated the fall, it was a wet rainy season back in the winter, and parts of northern California faced severe flooding and a crisis over dam breach risks (February 8-23)
9 - March tornado outbreak and wind storm: A powerful early spring storm produced an unusually early tornado outbreak in the Midwest (mercifully didn't kill anyone), followed by a major damaging wind event in the Great Lakes (March 6-8)
10 - Mid-Mississippi Valley flooding: Heavy rain from multiple storms produced major flooding in AR, MO and IL in late April and early May; there were also some tornadoes with those storms farther south (April 21-May 7)
The lower half of the list was difficult to order and there were some honorable mentions that I could have included (the late February tornadoes, the western heat waves, Hurricane Nate, the hail events in Colorado and the Southeast snow in December were the first ones that came to mind) but those make up my top 10.
Globally, I would say the #1 event of 2017 was also Hurricane Maria, although it may be overtaken by Typhoon Tembin.