Weather of 2023


The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2023. The year saw a transition from La Niña to El Niño, with record high global average surface temperatures. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones. The deadliest weather event of the year was Storm Daniel, which caused catastrophic dam failures in Libya which lead to the deaths of over 5,900 people. The costliest weather event of the year was Typhoon Doksuri, which caused $28.5 billion in damages in China, the Philippines and Taiwan, becoming the costliest tropical cyclone outside of the North Atlantic basin. Another significant weather event was Cyclone Freddy, which became the longest lasting tropical cyclone on record, beating the previous mark of Hurricane John in 1994. The storm caused 1,434 fatalities, with most of the deaths coming from Malawi.

Worst events

This is a list of weather events considered to be the most significant during 2023, in which reliable sources, surveys or academic assessments consider criteria such as, but not limited to: how impactful the event was, how deadly the event was, the impact on science, or other specific criteria. These events may be referred to as most important, most iconic, most significant, or the worst—but they are all considered key events in meteorology during the year.
EventDateLocationNotesCited survey
2022–2023 California floodsDecember 26, 2022 – March 25, 2023Southern California, the California Central Coast, Northern California and Nevada
2023 Canadian wildfiresMarch–October 2023Canada
2023 Western North America heat waveApril–May 2023Western North America
2023 Emilia-Romagna floodsMay 16–17, 2023Emilia-Romagna, Italy
2023 Hawaii wildfiresAugust 8–16, 2023Hawaii
Hurricane HilaryAugust 16–21, 2023Western Mexico, Revillagigedo Islands, Baja California peninsula, Western United States
Hurricane IdaliaAugust 26–September 8, 2023Yucatán Peninsula, Cayman Islands, Western Cuba, Southeastern United States, Bermuda, Atlantic Canada

Types

The following listed different types of special weather conditions worldwide.

Cold snaps and winter storms

In January, a cold snap in Afghanistan killed at least 166 people and more than 80,000 livestock. A national low temperature was set in Mohe City, China at, on January 23. Two days later, snow fell in Algeria for the first time in ten years. In late January, an ice storm impacted the southern portion of the Great Plains, leading to closures on interstates [Interstate Interstate 10 in Texas|10 in Texas|10], 30, 35W, and [Interstate Interstate 40 in Texas|40 in Texas|40] after numerous car accidents being reported. of freezing rain fell near Llano, Texas, while of freezing rain fell west of Leander, Texas. Dallas, Texas set a daily snowfall record on January 31, at. In early February, extremely cold temperatures made it into the Northeast, following an arctic front moving in by February 2. The front brought dangerously low wind chills to much of the region, with snow showers and snow squalls being reported. By February 3-4, temperature readings went down to the single digits above zero, with the lowest being to. On February 4, Albany, New York saw a record low, while a record low of was set at Glens Falls, New York. Also on February 4, Boston experienced a temperature of, smashing the February 4 record of set in 1886. Portland, Maine had a record-cold wind chill of. On Mount Washington's summit in New Hampshire, the wind chill hit, the coldest ever recorded in the United States, with an air temperature of combined with wind speeds of. In early March, a massive snowstorm in Arizona led to many pileups, with interstates 17, 40, and U.S. 93 closing down. Between and of snow fell in Arizona. The storm later moved to the Northeast, with snow emergencies being issued in the Albany metropolitan area and near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. of snow fell in Albany as a result of the winter storm. Later in March, a nor'easter hit New England between March 12–15, with 270,000 individuals losing power, low visibility leading to over 200 car crashes, and a temporary shutdown of Interstate 93 in New Hampshire. of snow fell in Hunter, New York, with the highest total recorded at near Readsboro, Vermont. In early April, a massive blizzard hit the Great Plains, with blizzard warnings stretching, from Wyoming to Minnesota. Casper, Wyoming set a record of a one-day and two-day record for snowfall, at and, with Atlantic City recording of snow. Kenora, Ontario saw of snow, setting the snowfall record for April 5. Salt Lake City saw a record cold high, at only. Between May 1–2, Marquette, Michigan received of snow, with falling on May 1, which is the greatest calendar snowfall for the month of May for Michigan. In addition, a snow depth of was recorded on the morning of May 2, shattering records for snow depth in the month of May.

Heat waves and droughts

Starting in April 2023, a record-breaking heat wave in Asia has affected multiple countries, including India, China, Laos and Thailand. In the Western Mediterranean region, starting in Northern Africa, there was a three-day heatwave from April 26 to 28. The temperature reached up to in parts of Morocco and Algeria. On April 27, at Córdoba Airport in Spain, the temperature reached, breaking the previous April record of set in Elche. Additionally, this marked the hottest temperature recorded in all of Europe in the month of April. Other parts of Spain had very high temperatures, with Mora reaching.

Tornadoes

An [Tornado outbreak of January 12, 2023|early-season 2023 Cheyenne tornado|tornado outbreak] in the Southern United States was responsible for eight deaths and 53 injuries. On January 24, an EF3 tornado struck Deer Park, Texas, causing a tornado emergency. A storm complex in late February caused several tornadoes including a tornado that hit Cheyenne, Oklahoma, that killed one. A rare tornado near Taif, Saudi Arabia killed one person and injured one more. Two separate tornado outbreaks between March 24–March 27 and March 31–April 1 caused 58 deaths and two EF4 tornadoes in the U.S.

Tropical and subtropical cyclones

The first named tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Hale, which caused minimal damage and one death in New Zealand as an extratropical cyclone. Later in January, Cyclone Cheneso killed at least 33 people in Madagascar and left 20 missing. In addition, it damaged over 13,000 houses and 18 medical centers.
In February, Cyclone Freddy formed on February 4 and lasted until March 14, making it the longest lived tropical cyclone on record, surpassing Hurricane John of 1994, tracking across the entire Indian Ocean, the first to do so since Hudah and Leon-Eline in 2000. In addition, Freddy also recorded the highest accumulated cyclone energy of any tropical cyclone worldwide, at 87.01, surpassing the previous record of 85.26 by Hurricane Ioke in 2006. Freddy killed at least 1,434 people, and left 19 missing. In May, Cyclone Mocha formed and made landfall in Myanmar, killing 438 people and more than 101 missing. In June, Cyclone Biparjoy formed over the Arabian Sea and intensified into an extremely severe tropical cyclone, and made landfall in India, leaving at least 12 people dead.

Extratropical cyclones and European windstorms

Cyclone Helios which formed in early February brought recorded rain and humidity to Malta from 80 years. Luqa recorded rain with a total of 140.4 millimeters. meteo.it defined it as a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone as it dissipated on February 11. Storm Otto, also known as Storm Ulf, brought high winds to the United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany. The highest wind gust was recorded in Cairngorms, UK, at 193 km/h.

Wildfires

Over 100 wildfires have been confirmed in Alberta, Canada, and 13,000 people have been evacuated. The 2023 Hawaii wildfires killed over 110 people in the town on Lahaina, Hawaii.

Timeline

This is a timeline of weather events during 2023.

January

In January 2023, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documented 30 weather-related fatalities and 162 weather-related injuries in the United States and Territories of the United States.

February

March

April

  • April 3 – Casper, Wyoming, saw its snowiest day on record, with of snow falling.
  • April 5 - An EF2 tornado hits the town of Glen Allen, Missouri, killing five people.
  • April 12-13 - Heavy rains affected Fort Lauderdale and South Florida, causing significant flooding.
  • April 14 – A temperature of at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, tied the state record for warmest April temperature. Additionally, a temperature of in Worcester, Massachusetts, became the earliest date for a ninety degree day.
  • April 19 - Tornadoes struck throughout the U.S. central plains, including a fatal EF3 tornado in Cole, Oklahoma. The outbreak lead to 3 fatalities.
  • April 21 - A significant tornado struck the Aung Myin Kone and Tadau villages near Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw, killing at least 8 people and injuring at least 128. At least 232 homes were also destroyed by the tornado.
  • April 22 - Gusty and strong winds in Pennsylvania lead to falling trees that killed 2 people.
  • April 27 — The hottest April temperature in Europe occurred, with the temperature in Córdoba, Spain at.
  • April 29 — A microburst in Texas caused “tens of millions of dollars” in damage.

May

June

  • June 1–2 – Record heat affects portions of the Northeastern United States, with Burlington, Vermont, seeing a high of, the warmest temperature so early in the season there. The next day, daily records were set in Hartford and Philadelphia.
  • June 1 - Temperatures in Lapland, Finland reached, the coldest June temperature in the country.
  • June 2–4 – Floods in Haiti cause 51 deaths and injure 140 people. Additionally, over 13,500 homes were flooded and 820 were destroyed.
  • June 6–19 – Cyclone Biparjoy becomes the longest-lived cyclone in the Arabian Sea and kills 12 people in Gujarat.
  • June 8–9 – Windstorms and floods in Iran kill seven and leave 59 injured.
  • June 10 – Heavy rains in northeast Pakistan kills 25 and leaves 145 injured.
  • June 14–19 – A widespread tornado outbreak sequence leaves five dead and 120 injured
  • *A low-end EF3 tornado damages or destroys nearly 200 homes in Perryton, Texas.
  • *In Jasper County, Mississippi, over a dozen buildings were destroyed and one person was killed by an EF3 tornado.
  • June 17–18 – Floods and landslides in Nepal kill at least six and leave 28 missing.
  • June 20 – Two Texas cities broke all-time record high temperatures, with San Angelo reaching and Del Rio reaching. Air conditioning pushed ERCOT power demand to a record 81.2 GW.
  • June 20–26 – A second widespread tornado outbreak sequence across the United States leaves over 100 injured and eight dead.
  • *An EF3 tornado in Matador, Texas, kills four people and destroys over ten buildings.
  • *An EF2 tornado in Martin and Dubois County, Indiana, leaves one dead and another person injured.
  • *At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a record gust of was observed, surpassing the airport's previous highest gust of during Hurricane Ike.
  • June 22 – July 6 – Monsoon rains in Pakistan kill 55 people, including at least eight children.
  • *June 25 – Ten people are killed from lightning strikes in Punjab province, Pakistan.
  • June 27 – Flash flood induced landslides in the Miansi and Weizhou townships in Sichuan province, China, result in four deaths and three missing people.
  • June 29 – Authorities in Mexico have said that within the past two weeks, over 100 people have died from heat related deaths as temperatures have came close to.
  • June 30 – Heavy rain and a tornado in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa leaves at least seven people dead another seven missing.

July

August

September

In September 2023, 20% of the earth's surface experienced new record high temperatures, the highest percentage of any month since the start of records in 1951.

October

The month of October was the warmest October ever recorded.

November

  • November 19 – Flooding in the Dominican Republic kills 21 people.
  • November 20 – Flooding in Turkey and Bulgaria kills nine people and leaves eleven crew members on the Kafkametler missing.
  • November 24-28 - A winter storm in the United States kills 4.
  • November 27 – A snowstorm in Ukraine and Moldova kills eight people and injures another 29.

December

Space weather

Events in meteorology

  • January 9 – Perseverance provides the first ever detailed weather report on Mars.