Posted: 4:46 pm Sunday, December 23rd, 2012
By John Nelander
Hurricane Sandy as captured by a stationary satellite at 1:45 p.m. EDT on Oct. 28. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project Science team)
Weather related damage in the U.S. during 2012 will shatter last year’s total of $60 billion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday. The two costliest events were the drought in the West and Midwest and Hurricane Sandy.
Sandy’s tab alone has been estimated at $65 billion, including $30 million in damage in Florida with $6 million in Palm Beach. The summer’s drought caused $35 billion in crop damage, according to Weather Underground. Severe weather was responsible for 349 deaths in the U.S. this year, including 131 killed during Hurricane Sandy and 123 people who died as a direct result of the heat wave associated with the drought.
Eleven events caused at least $1 billion in damage each, down from 2011’s 14 billion-dollar weather events. But the extent of damage caused by the Hurricane Sandy and the drought more than made up for the lower numbers.
The 11 events were: the year-long drought and accompanying heat wave; the summer-fall wildfires in the West that burned more than 9.1 million acres; Hurricane Sandy; Hurricane Isaac, which made landfall in Louisiana in August; the bout of severe weather in the Plains States from June 29 to July 2, which killed 28 people; the June 6-12 hail storms that ravaged Colorado, Texas and New Mexico and triggered 25 tornadoes; the May 25-30 severe storms that generated 27 tornadoes from Texas to New York State; the April 28-May 1 tornado outbreak that hit the Midwest (38 confirmed tornadoes); The massive April 13-14 Midwest tornado outbreak (98 tornadoes confirmed); the April 2-3 Texas tornado outbreak (22 confirmed); And the March 2-3 outbreak in the Ohio Valley that caused 75 confirmed tornadoes and killed 42 people.
The record year for losses remains 2005, when hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Dennis and Wilma hit Florida and the Gulf Coast States, NOAA said. In 2012-adjusted dollars, there were $187 billion in losses that year.
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It was another cold morning on Sunday, but the holiday week warm-up had begun.
The reason for the second cold night was that the high pressure system that brought the cold air was parked right over the peninsula Saturday night and winds were calm, allowing for radiational cooling. Also, the air mass was unusually dry — the relative humidity was only 17 percent Palm Beach International Airport at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The low at the airport was 46. On the island of Palm Beach, the low was a more balmy 52.
Elsewhere in South Florida, Homestead got down to 47; Miami International Airport dropped to 52; it was 50 at the airport in Fort Lauderdale; and 42 in Naples.
Okeechobee hit the freezing mark, 32 degrees, from midnight to about 3 a.m. Sunday. It was in the 30s in Central Florida.
There was a hard freeze posted for North Florida, and Gainesville reachedt 28 degrees for the second night in a row.
Putting the weekend cold snap into perspective, it was 27 below zero at Kremmling, Colo. in the Rocky Mountains west of Boulder — the nation’s low temperature on Saturday. The nation’s high was 76 at McAllen, Texas.
Christmas Day forecasts: sunny and 78 in Palm Beach; 45 with rain in New York; 38 with rain and snow in Boston; sunny and 47 in Baltimore; Chicago, 34 degrees with snow; partly sunny in Denver with a high of 24; 61 degrees in Phoenix with sunshine; 63 in San Diego under mostly sunny skies; and rain and 55 degrees in San Francisco.
Residents of Fairbanks, Alaska, will be celebrating a holiday high of 1 degree under mostly cloudy skies. That’s because the forecast high Sunday was 26 below zero with a low of 37 below zero Sunday night. But thanks to a warming trend, highs should be near 7 by the end of the week.
About the Author
John Nelander is a freelance writer, book editor and publisher in West Palm Beach. Weather Matters features news and observations about the weather with a focus on what's happening in South Florida. The blog also looks at the latest studies on climate change as well as what's happening in the weather forecasting biz. His website is www.pbeditorialservices.com.