Weather of 2008
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2008. The year began with La Niña conditions. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones. In early May, powerful Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, killing or leaving missing at least 138,373 people and becoming the deadliest single weather event of the year. There were several other weather events that caused significant death and destruction, such as Typhoon Fengshen, which killed over 1,400 people, and the 2008 Afghanistan blizzard, which killed over 900 people. In the United States, there were a total of twelve billion-dollar disasters which caused between $80 billion and $104.8 billion in damage. A total of 572 deaths were reported due to weather-related phenomena in the United States, and over 2,400 injuries.
Global conditions
The year began with La Nina conditions that developed the previous year. The La Nina peaked in February, and after that, sea surface temperatures near the equators began to warm up. As a consequence, by June, NOAA assessed that the El Nino-Southern Oscillation had transitioned to its normal phase. This neutral phase remained through the remainder of the year, with below-average SSTs. Despite being the coldest year since 2000, the year was still one of the top 10 warmest years on record.Weather summaries by type
Cold waves and winter storms
In early January 2008, a blizzard impacted parts of Iran, killing 21 people. At around the same time, the Pacific Northwest was hit by a storm system, causing at least 12 deaths. In mid-January, the third-deadliest blizzard in history struck Afghanistan, killing at least 926 people. At around the same time, a cold blast struck China, causing heavy snow and ice until early February, accompanied with cold weather. Direct economic losses were estimated at over $22 billion, and at least 129 people were killed.In early February, a snowstorm impacted the Central Plains and the Great Lakes, causing at least 4 deaths. Later in the month, a system moved through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, killing at least 6 people.In March, the North American blizzard of 2008 moved through parts of the United States and Canada, killing 17 people and causing nearly $800 million of damage.
On May 26 and 27, Mongolia was hit with a heavy snowstorm causing at least 52 fatalities. Hundreds of thousands of heads of livestock were killed or went missing.
In late October, a blizzard in Tibet dumped nearly 25 inches of snow. Six people were reported dead.
In December, the December 2008 Northeastern United States ice storm knocked out power to over a million people and caused three fatalities. Soon after, a snowstorm impacted large swaths of Canada and the United States, killing eight people in an avalanche in British Columbia.
Droughts
In late 2007, drought enveloped Zimbabwe while the country's economy struggled and political problems continued. This problem continued into 2008. Kenya was also in drought starting in 2008 that persisted into 2011, causing an estimated $12 billion in losses. In addition, a multi-year drought enveloped Victoria and New South Wales in Australia between 2007 and 2009. This drought was devastating for farmers. California was also in a dry spell, which contributed to the devastating 2008 California wildfire season.Floods
2008 was characterized by large amounts of precipitation in parts of the world, including northern South America.Between November 2007 and February 2008, heavy rain hit parts of Bolivia, causing floods that killed 50 people.
In January, 46 people in eastern Africa died from floods triggered by unexpected heavy rain.
In February, heavy rain in Angola triggered floods in Namibia, covering thousands of square kilometers of land and killing at least 42 people by early March. This led to a cholera outbreak and by the 16th of April, 958 cases were reported, with four of them being fatal. In addition, the Philippines received heavy rain, causing flooding and landslides and killing 45 people.
In March, the Midwest received heavy rain, leading to floods that killed 17 people.
In late May, southern parts of China received four rounds of torrential rainfall, resulting in multiple rounds of floods that in total killed over 150 people.
During the monsoon season, floods hit parts of India, killing over 2,400 people and submerging over 1,800 villages. The Kosi embankment broke, sending large amounts of water and flooding villages in northern Bihar and Nepal.
In September, heavy rains caused the retaining wall of a reservoir in China to collapse, causing a major mudslide that inundated a village and killed 277 people.
In early October, Algeria experiences flash flooding, killing 89 people near the town of Ghardaïa. In late October into early November, northern and central areas of Vietnam and parts of southern China experienced flooding after three days of heavy rainfall. At least 100 people were killed, with 66 in Vietnam and 34 in China. A few weeks later, Santa Catarina, Brazil was hit by deadly floods caused by heavy rainfall that killed at least 128 people.
Heat waves and wildfires
In March, a long-lasting, intense heatwave gripped southern Australia, breaking many records. In Adelaide, it was the longest heatwave ever recorded at the time.In April, several wildfires burned in the south-central United States, with one wind-driven fire killing three people in Colorado.
In June, a heatwave broke several records in the northeastern United States. About twenty fatalities were recorded, eighteen of which were in the Philadelphia area. Later in the month, California experienced a heat wave, with some records being broken. Six more people were killed when another heatwave hit the Philadelphia area in mid-July.
In addition, around the same time, large amounts of dry thunderstorms swept across California, causing over 2,000 fires. During the summer, wildfires killed over a dozen firefighters and one civilian and injured several others. A helicopter accident killed nine people, most of them firefighters.
In August, four people were killed in the Dallas area after a long period of hot, humid conditions impacted the area.
Tornadoes
2008 was an active year for tornadoes in the United States, with 1,692 tornadoes confirmed. These tornadoes killed 126 people in the US. Fatalities were also reported in China, France, Bangladesh, and Poland. January and February were unusually active for tornadoes in the United States. In January, a sequence of tornado outbreaks impacted the Midwest, with at least 54 tornado reports confirmed from January 7–8, the strongest being an EF3. The outbreak was responsible for at least five deaths. In February, the largest February tornado outbreak in history and the deadliest tornado outbreak in 23 years for the United States impacted the Mid-South and the Tennessee Valley, producing 87 tornadoes and causing 57 fatalities across four states, with more than half of them being in Tennessee. Several storm systems moved through the southeast and eastern United States in March and April, with one of them moving through downtown Atlanta. May was a very active month, with 460 tornadoes, making it the third most active May ever recorded. Notable tornadoes include an EF4 that killed 22 people in Oklahoma and Missouri, and an EF5 that impacted the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, killing seven in the town and two in New Hartford. Severe weather continued into June with 289 tornadoes being confirmed. In August, remnants of multiple tropical cyclones produced several tornado reports, with 141 preliminary reports of tornadoes being received. In addition, a tornado outbreak occurred in Europe, with an F4 tornado killing three people in France. Multiple tropical cyclone-related tornado outbreaks occurred in September. In mid-November, two people were killed by tornadoes in North Carolina.Tropical cyclones
In early February, Cyclone Ivan made landfall in eastern Madagascar, affecting some areas already hit by Cyclone Fame, and killing 93 people and displacing nearly 200,000. Early in March, Cyclone Jokwe impacted parts of Mozambique and the northern tip of Madagascar, killing 20 in Mozambique and destroying over 8,000 homes. In April, Typhoon Neoguri developed and became the earliest tropical cyclone to hit China since 1949. Three fatalities were recorded, and 40 fishermen went missing. Soon after, the deadliest storm to impact Asia since 1991 impacted Myanmar, killing over 138,000 people and causing over $12 billion in damage. In May, Tropical Storm Halong formed west of the Philippines, tracked east, and made landfall on the west coast of the island nation. A total of 61 people were killed and three left missing. In June, Typhoon Fengshen killed over 1,400 people, with 800 of those being on the MV Princess of the Stars when it capsized in the storm. July was an active month for tropical cyclones, with Typhoon Kalmaegi killing a total of 25 people in Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines. It was soon followed by Hurricane Dolly, causing 22 fatalities, with most of them in Guatemala, and Typhoon Fung-wong, which killed at least 6 people in parts of East Asia and the Philippines. In August, Tropical Storm Kammuri caused major flooding in Vietnam, killing at least 127 people. India was also hit by a tropical depression that killed over 60 people from flooding. In the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Fay made four landfalls and impacted areas of the Caribbean and Florida, causing 36 fatalities. Fay was soon followed by Gustav, which killed 153 people, more than half which were in Haiti, and Hurricane Hanna, which caused a total of 537 deaths, most of which were attributed to flooding in the northern part of Haiti. In early September, Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas after sweeping thought the Caribbean, impacting areas already hit by Gustav and causing nearly 200 deaths. A couple weeks later, Typhoon Hagupit impacted large parts of South and Southeast Asia, killing at least 93 people. In October, Hurricane Norbert made landfall in Baja California and Sonora, killing 25 people. Deep Depression ARB 02 affected Yemen, causing massive floods that killed 180 people. In late November, Cyclone Nisha caused devastating floods in Sri Lanka and India, killing a total of 204 people, 189 of which were in India.