Weather of 2019


The following is a list of weather events in 2019.

Global conditions

2019 was Earth's second-warmest year on record, which goes back to 1880. It was the 43rd consecutive year of above-average temperatures. The year was 0.95 °C above the 20th century average, and 0.07 °C behind 2016, which was the warmest year on record. 2019 fell to the third-warmest year on record when the following year surpassed it. In 2019, Australia and the U.S. state of Alaska recorded their warmest years on record.
There is a previous El Niño episode continuing from last year, and new El Niño episode started this year, lasting until 2020.

Summary by weather type

Winter storms and cold waves

From January 16 to 19, a winter storm crosses the United States, killing ten. Then, from January 24 into February, a cold wave brought record low temperatures to the United States. Illinois set a statewide record low temperature. Twenty-two people die as a result of the cold. Then, in mid-March, another cross country storm came to the United States, which killed a man in Colorado, left 140,000 without power in Texas, and contributed to the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods, which caused two deaths in Nebraska and one in Iowa. Another blizzard struck the United States in April 2019. In October 2019, record cold and near-record cold come down over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains. In particular, with a mean statewide temperature of, Idaho realized its coldest October on record. The next major winter storm in the United States came next season, when a cold wave that kills at least seven people. The last notable blizzard is the November 26 – December 3, 2019 North American blizzard. Eight people die due to the storm, and over 80,000 people in the New York Metropolitan Area lose power.

Floods

In late January and early February, the Australian city of Townsville experienced record flooding when a stalled but very active monsoon trough that was bought down by Tropical Low 13U, caused an overflowing of the Ross River Dam. Approximately 3300 homes were damaged by floodwaters, and about 1500 homes rendered uninhabitable. As many as 30,000 insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of the event, with damages estimated to be $1.243 billion AUD based on insurance losses. 5 deaths were attributed to the event. The event came after Townsville experienced a drought prior to the flooding. One year prior to the floods, the dam level was at 13%, and during the floods the dam peaked at 244%, before water was released.

Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires

Tornadoes

An EF4 tornado in Havana in January 2019, becomes the strongest in Cuba since 1940. Eight people are killed and 190 are injured. Later on February 23–24, a tornado outbreak across the United States kills one and causes $1.4 billion in damages. Then, on March 3, a deadly tornado outbreak spawns 41 tornadoes. One of them, the 2019 Beauregard tornado, becomes the deadliest tornado since the 2013 Moore tornado and kills 23 people, and injures 97. On March 31, a tornado strikes Nepal. This tornado is responsible for 28 deaths and $800,000 in damage. It was later identified as the first confirmed case of a tornado in Nepal. Then, on April 13–15, 2019, a tornado outbreak in the Southeastern United States kills three. A few days later, another tornado outbreak tied for Mississippi's largest tornado outbreak, As the squall line tracked east, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were received across the Southeast United States. and also became Virginia's third largest outbreak in a single day. In the second half of May, the United States experienced a record breaking tornado outbreak sequence. On June 29, a rare hybrid tornado struck Allen, South Dakota. A few months later, an EF3 tornado in Dallas became the costliest tornado in Texas history. In November, another tornado outbreak caused a fatality in the Southeastern US. The death was due to an EF2 in Louisiana. The last major tornado outbreak of the year occurs on December 16–17, 2019, which cause 3 deaths, plus one non-tornadic.

Tropical cyclones

As the year began, five tropical cyclones that formed in 2018 were still active. Cyclone Penny was moving over Queensland, Cyclone Mona was developing in the eastern Australian region, a tropical depression and a tropical disturbance was in the South Pacific, and Tropical Storm Pabuk was in the South China Sea.
In the south-west Indian Ocean, there were 14 tropical cyclones, including several powerful cyclones. Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique in March and caused widespread flooding across southeast Africa. The cyclone killed at least 1,297 people, becoming one of the deadliest recorded tropical cyclones in Africa, with a damage total of over US$2 billion, the costliest cyclone on record in the basin. In April, Cyclone Kenneth struck northern Mozambique as the most intense storm on record to hit the country. It killed 52 people in the Comoros and Mozambique. In December, Cyclone Ambali attained 10 minute winds of 220 km/h after the most significant rapid deepening events ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. In the Australian region, there were 15 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Veronica, which caused A$2 billion in damage when it struck Western Australia. There were 11 tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean during the year. In the south Atlantic Ocean, there was a rare short-lived tropical storm – Iba – which formed in March off the coast of Brazil.
In the north-west Pacific Ocean, there were 49 tropical cyclones that formed after Pabuk. In August, Typhoon Lekima killed 105 people and caused CN¥65.37 billion in damage when it struck southeastern China. Also in August, Typhoon Faxai struck Japan, causing US$10 billion in damage, followed less than two months later by Typhoon Hagibis, which hit Tokyo. Hagibis killed 98 people and caused US$15 billion in damage. In the North Indian Ocean, there were 12 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Pabuk, which moved from the South China Sea into the Bay of Bengal in early January. The season's strongest storm was Cyclone Kyarr in October, which attained winds of 240 km/h in the Arabian Sea. Also during the season, Cyclone Fani struck eastern India, killing 89 people and causing US$8.1 billion in damage.
In the north Atlantic Ocean, there were 18 tropical cyclones and two subtropical cyclones. In September, Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm on record to hit The Bahamas, with 1 minute sustained winds of 185 mph. Dorian devastated the country as it moved slowly through the island group, causing US$3.4 billion in damage and at least 74 deaths, with hundreds missing. In September, Tropical Storm Imelda moved ashore southeastern Texas and left US$5 billion in damage after dropping of rainfall. Also in September, Hurricane Lorenzo attained 1 minute sustained winds of 160 mph in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Lorenzo capsized a ship, the Bourbon Rhode, killing 11 crew members, and the storm later struck the Azores, causing €330 million in damage. In the north-east Pacific Ocean, there were 21 tropical cyclones.

Timeline

This is a timeline of weather events during 2019. ''Please note that entries might cross between months, however, all entries are listed by the month they started with an exception for Tropical Storm Pabuk which was ongoing when 2019 began. Dates listed in parentheses mean the start and end dates are not specifically listed in the articles.''

January