Stormwater flows into Biscayne Bay, 1 June 2024 - 18 June 2024. The flows from the Little River exceeded rates of 2000 cubic feet per second, causing very low salinity in the bay, resulting in large-scale fish kills. Graphic: Miami Waterkeeper

Record flooding yields massive fish kill in miles-long stretch of Biscayne Bay – “These events are anything but normal”

By Margaret Wong 23 July 2024 (The Cool Down) – Biscayne Bay is reeling from its fourth major fish kill in as many years, triggered by recent record flooding in South Florida.  What’s happening? Torrential rains have inundated the region, causing a significant influx of freshwater into the bay, which has led to low salinity […]

The Little Sioux River floods homes in Smithland, Iowa, on 25 June 2024. Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes / The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Flooding across the U.S. Midwest may have wiped out up to 1 million acres of crops, new estimates show – 7 million acres accumulated more than 6 inches of rain, which caused standing water in fields

By Tyne Morgan 3 July 2024 (Farm Journal) – Portions of Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska are grappling with the aftermath of flooding, while continuing to fight a swollen river. The Mississippi River is facing flood threats, too. The high waters and flooding are suffocating fields, causing crop damage to key growing areas across the […]

Flames consume a home on Bessie Lane as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, Tuesday, 2 July 2024. An extended heat wave blanketing Northern California resulted in red flag fire warnings and power shutoffs. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Photo

Insurance crisis that started in Florida and California is spreading – “Insurance companies are responding to the fact that we’re seeing more frequent and more severe climate events, and the fact that they’re paying out more than they’re bringing in”

By Scott Cohn 2 July 2024 (CNBC) – An insurance crisis that has sent premiums skyrocketing and caused carriers to flee coastal states like Florida and California is spreading, and it is fundamentally changing the real estate market in states across the country. “Not only is the cost higher than people anticipated, but just the inability to […]

Map of the U.S. showing 11 weather and climate disasters each costing $1 billion or more that occurred between January and May, 2024. Graphic: NOAA / NCEI

Billion-dollar disasters swept across the U.S. in Spring 2024

By Meredith Garofalo 13 June 2024 (Space.com) – Two severe weather events in May brought the number of billion-dollar disasters for the United States in 2024 up to nearly a dozen.  The month began with a tornado outbreak from May 6 to May 10 that stretched across 23 states, going from South Dakota to Florida. […]

Tornado sightings and events in the U.S., 2010-2024. The graph shows that 2024 tornado reports by June were well above the 15-year mean, below only 2011, and just above 2019 numbers. Graphic: National Weather Service

2024’s violent tornado season has been one of the most active on record

By William Gallus 26 June 2024 (The Conversation) – Spring 2024 was unnerving for people across large parts of the U.S. as tornado warnings and sirens sent them scrambling for safety. More than 1,100 tornadoes were reported through May − a preliminary number but nearly twice the 30-year average at that point and behind only 2011, when deadly […]

Floodwaters rushed around the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River in Minnesota on 24 June 2024, washing away an electrical substation. Photo: Ben Brewer / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Breached Minnesota dam at risk of failure still standing amid “historic” flooding

By Kyle Stokes and Torey Van Oot 25 June 2024 (Axios) – “Historic” flooding across the state will likely require a federal disaster declaration, Gov. Tim Walz said Monday. Threat level: Recent heavy rain, including a foot-and-a-half in southern Minnesota, has already closed roads, caused serious damage, and left some communities under feet of water. The latest: A breached […]

Aerial view of “catastrophic flooding” in Rock Valley, Iowa, 23 June 2024. Photo: KTIV / CNN

“Catastrophic flooding” in Upper Midwest U.S. prompts evacuations as record-breaking heat wave broils the West and mid-Atlantic – “The river rose to historic levels that we’ve never seen here before”

By Dalia Faheid 23 June 2024 (CNN) – Millions of people across the US are still trudging through a record-setting heat wave that is shifting to the Mid-Atlantic, while many Americans – including in New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota – contend with “catastrophic” flash flooding this weekend. Here’s the latest: Flooding threat in northern […]

A Guadalupe Virgin statue lays among the rubble of the destroyed home of Juana Landeros, who rode out a deadly tornado with her husband and her 9-year-old son when it rolled through the previous night, Sunday, 26 May 2024, in Valley View, Texas. Powerful storms left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S. Photo: Julio Cortez / AP Photo

23 are dead across the U.S. after weekend tornadoes, Texas battered again

By John Seewer 28 May 2024 (AP News) – Strong storms with damaging winds and hail pummeled north Texas on Tuesday morning as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 23 people during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Widespread power outages were reported in the region, which includes […]

Residents shovel thick layers of ice after a surprise hailstorm hit Puebla, Mexico on 24 May 2024. Photo: Reuters

Hailstorm covers Mexican city with thick ice amid heat wave

24 May 2024 (Reuters) – The unexpected storm surprised locals as hail accumulated up to several feet in some areas, transforming streets into icy rivers. The hailstorm caused widespread damage to some homes, blocking roads and knocking down trees. In the aftermath of the storm, residents were seen shoveling ice and mud in amazement at […]

Map of confirmed tornadoes and tornado warnings by the National Weather Service during the tornado outbreak of 6-9 May 2024. Map produced in QGIS. National Weather Service warning outlines available from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet and tornado data available from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Graphic: Wxtrackercody / Wikipedia

How “kitty cats” are wrecking the home insurance industry – “What we’ve missed is that it wasn’t a big event that had a big impact, it was a bunch of small surprise events that just added up”

By Jake Bittle 16 May 2024 (Grist) – The rising cost of homeowner’s insurance is now one of the most prominent symptoms of climate change in the United States. Major carriers like State Farm and Allstate have pulled back from offering fire insurance in California, dropping thousands of homeowners from their books, and dozens of small […]

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