35 photos capture extreme weather events that hammered the US in 2018
Bomb cyclones, major hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, tornadoes and major flooding produced stunning and often tragic imagery in 2018.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there were 11 billion-dollar disasters in the United States as of Oct. 9, a number that will surely increase following Hurricane Michael's impact in Florida and the Camp and Woolsey fires that scorched portions of Northern and Southern California in November.
Here is a look back at some of the biggest weather stories of the year.
Bombcyclones, nor'easters pummel Northeast
2018 kicked off with a stormy pattern in the Northeast that brought brutal cold to invade and maintain a relentless grip on the region.
After a bomb cyclone rocked coastal areas in January, a string of nor’easters walloped the Northeast, with snow, heavy winds and coastal flooding, in March.
From March 2 to 21, a time span which included the transition of winter to spring, four nor'easters developed. The spring snowstorm set snowfall records in parts of the Northeast including in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City on March 21.
From hurricanes to bomb cyclones, 2018 was full of extreme weather events.
Dry, windy conditions fuel deadly California wildfire season
With a wildfire season that is becoming close to year-round, California once again was forced to deal with deadly and destructive wildfires that sent thousands from their homes and impacted air quality for millions.
While there were several notable wildfires that will be remembered for destructive impacts, including the Carr Fire during July and August, none were as severe as the Camp Fire which burned the town of Paradise to the ground shortly after igniting on Nov. 8.
The Camp Fire is the state's deadliest wildfire on record as it claimed 85 lives. It also ranks as California's 16th-largest wildfire with a total acreage of 153,336. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Over 7,500 wildfires burned more than 1.6 million acres, across the state, according to Cal Fire.
When devastating wildfires weren't unfolding, powerful storms were threatening flooding and mudslides. Nowhere was this more severe than in Montecito, California, where at least 21 people were killed in early January.
Ellicott City, Maryland, overwhelmed by raging floodwaters for second time in three years
Thunderstorms dropped more than two months' worth of rain on Ellicott City, Maryland, on May 27, turning the town’s Main Street into a raging river that washed cars away and tore buildings apart.
Numerous water rescues were conducted around the town, which is located about 30 minutes west of Baltimore, by emergency crews amid the high flood waters.
One fatality was confirmed in the wake of the flooding.
Many cities in the eastern U.S. had record-challenging years in terms of rainfall. Pittsburgh had received 53.54 inches of rain as of Dec. 14, which is just shy of the all-time record of 57.41 inches in 2004.
Wilmington, North Carolina, easily set a yearly rainfall record thanks in part to Hurricane Florence. As of Dec. 17, the city had received more than an unprecedented 100 inches for the year. The city’s annual average is 57.61.
Washington D.C., officially broke its record for wettest calendar year on record. The city has received 64.22 inches of rain, breaking the previous total of 61.33 inches in 1889.
Atlantic hurricane season was intense, but not nearly as much as 2017
The Accumulated Cyclone Energy for 2018 in the Atlantic Basin was 128.9. This means the season was above normal in intensity, as any value that’s 111 or above is considered above average.
The season, which featured two highly destructive storms in hurricanes Florence and Michael, still fell below the ACE value of the 2017 season when the ACE total was 226.
Michael and Florence will be known as two of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history. Florence will be remembered for its historic amounts of rain in North Carolina, while Michael will be remembered for winds that approached Category 5 status near landfall.
Above-average activity wasn't limited to strictly the Atlantic. Tropical cyclone activity was well above normal in the East Pacific with 22 named storms, 12 hurricanes and nine major hurricanes. The long-term averages for the basin include 15 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The East Pacific season's ACE value was the third-highest on record.
Report a Typo
