Global Warming is Fueling Extreme Weather Across the U.S.

Our new interactive extreme weather map, released with Environment America, shows weather-related disasters in every U.S. county over the last five years.

Alana Miller

Policy Analyst

Every year, weather-related disasters injure or kill hundreds of Americans and cause billions of dollars in damage. Many of the risks posed by extreme weather will likely increase in a warming world. Scientists have already noted increases in extreme precipitation and heat waves as global warming raises temperatures and exacerbates weather extremes.

Our new interactive extreme weather map, released with Environment America, shows weather-related disasters in every U.S. county over the last five years. Users can filter the map by disaster type to see which counties have experienced wildfires, flooding, snow and ice storms, tropical and other severe storms, as well as drought. The map also features personal stories from people affected by severe weather.

Analysis of the map finds that since September 2010, counties housing 96 percent of the total U.S. population (nearly 309 million Americans) were affected by federally-declared weather-related disasters.

  • Over the last five years, weather-related disasters were declared in all 50 states and in D.C.
  • In 32 states, every county had at least one weather-related disaster since September 2010.
  • More than 40 million Americans live in counties that were affected by five or more weather disasters.

Many types of extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent or severe in a warming world, which could lead to more weather-related disasters throughout the United States.

To protect America from a future of even more extreme weather, the United States should reduce global warming pollution now.

Authors

Alana Miller

Policy Analyst