Fast Facts / Hurricane Costs

Hurricane Costs

Of all recorded weather disasters in U.S. history, tropical cyclones—known as hurricanes when occurring in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and Eastern North Pacific Oceans—have caused the most deaths and destruction. While much of the information on this page focuses on hurricanes, some of the numbers account for total weather disasters, including flooding, severe storms, and wildfires.

115

The number of weather and climate disasters in the U.S. from 2020 to 2024 with losses exceeding $1 billion.

$2.915 trillion

The total approximate cost of damages from weather and climate disasters in the U.S. from 1980 to present (as of February 2025).

23

The average annual number of weather and climate disasters from 2020 to 2024. In 2024 alone, the U.S. experienced 27 billion-dollar disasters.

2024: Above Average

The 27 billion-dollar disasters in 2024 resulted in $182.7 billion in damages–higher than the average annual amount of events (23) and the average annual cost ($149.3 billion) for the past five years.

2024 was also the warmest year in NOAA’s global temperature record, which dates back to 1850. Antarctic sea ice extent was second lowest on record in both February (when the annual minimum occurs) and September (when the annual maximum occurs).

Hurricanes Helene and Milton: Historic Damage and Destruction

Making landfall near Perry, Florida, on September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene—with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour—was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida and the third hurricane to hit that region in just over a year. It also caused billions of dollars in damage to Georgia's agriculture sector. Helene's most severe impacts were from the historic rainfall (up to over 30 inches) and record-breaking flooding across much of western North Carolina. Asheville and many surrounding cities and communities were heavily impacted, as were southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee.

Helene was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Maria (2017), and the deadliest to strike the U.S. mainland since Katrina (2005). Helene’s total costs were $78.7 billion.

With 120 mile-per-hour sustained winds, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on October 9, 2024. A storm surge of up to 10 feet caused damage from along the Gulf coast, and the hurricane spawned dozens of highly destructive tornadoes across southern Florida. Total costs for Milton were $34.3 billion.

2023: Breaking Many Records

The year 2023 broke multiple weather and climate records. Earth had its warmest July on record. July also set a record for the highest monthly sea surface temperature anomaly (+1.78°F or +0.99°C) of any month in NOAA’s 174-year record. According to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information’s Global Annual Temperature Outlook, it is almost certain (over 99 percent) that the year 2023 will rank among the five warmest years on record, with a nearly 50-percent probability that 2023 will rank warmest on record.

In August, Tropical Storm Hilary made history as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years. Rainfalls for Hilary broke virtually all daily rainfall records for the area.

In total, 28 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each affected the U.S. in 2023. The combined total cost of these 2023 disasters is $93.1 billion. Only one other year (2017) had more billion-dollar disasters in the first six months, and 2023 was second only to 2021 for total damage costs through the first half of any year since 1980.

2022: Year in Review

In 2022, there were 18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. The total cost for these events was over $165 billion, making this the third most costly year on record at the time.

2020: New Annual Record

2020 set a new record for events, with 22 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters—shattering the previous annual record of 16 events in 2011 and 2017.

Tropical Cyclones: The Highest Costs

Of the 403 billion-dollar weather disasters since 1980 (as of December 31, 2024), tropical cyclones (or hurricanes) have caused the most damage: over $1.5 trillion total, with an average cost of $23 billion per event. They are also responsible for the highest number of deaths: 7,211 since 1980.

Harvey, Irma, and Maria: Making History

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season was among the most intense ever recorded. The combined costs for Harvey, Irma, and Maria totaled $339.2 billion.

Hurricane Harvey: Harvey was the most significant tropical cyclone rainfall event ever recorded in U.S. history, both in scope and peak rainfall amounts. The highest storm total rainfall report from Harvey was 60.58 inches. Prior to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Harvey became the deadliest U.S. hurricane in terms of direct deaths since Sandy (2012) and the deadliest hurricane to hit Texas since 1919. It was the first category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Texas since 1961, and the first category 4 to make landfall in the U.S. since 2004. Harvey lasted 117 hours, beating the previous record for duration of Hurricane Fern in 1971.

Hurricane Irma: With maximum winds of 185 miles per hour, Irma became the strongest storm on record to exist in the Atlantic Ocean outside of the Caribbean and Gulf of America. It sustained those maximum winds speeds for 37 hours and spent three consecutive days as a category 5 hurricane—making it the longest of any cyclone in the world since 1932 to maintain that intensity. The occurrences of Harvey and Irma—making landfall within two weeks of each other—were the first time in recorded history that two category 4 or higher hurricanes struck the U.S. mainland in the same year.

Hurricane Maria: Maria was the first category 5 hurricane ever to make landfall in Dominica, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Puerto Rico since 1928. It was the deadliest of 2017’s three major storm, with over 2,900 fatalities.

All costs are CPI-adjusted.