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.
Deadliest events + Deadliest meteorological events during 2023 Rank Event Date(s) Deaths (+Missing) Refs12023 European heatwavesJune – September47,000+2Storm DanielSeptember 4–125,951+ (10,100+ missing)3Cyclone FreddyFebruary 4 – March 141,434 (19 missing)4Western North America heat waveMay – present6955Cyclone MochaMay 9–15463 (≥101 missing)6North India floodsJuly 10 – present422 (38 missing)7Afghanistan cold snapJanuary 10–17166 8Pakistan floodsJune 22 – July 61599Typhoon DoksuriJuly 20 – July 3013710Philippine floodsDecember 18, 2022 – February 5, 202397 (+25 missing)
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(s)2022–2023 California floodsDecember 26, 2022 – March 25, 2023Southern California, the California Central Coast, Northern California and Nevada2023 Canadian wildfiresMarch–October 2023Canada (all 13 provinces and territories)2023 Western North America heat waveApril–May 2023Western North America2023 Emilia-Romagna floodsMay 16–17, 2023Emilia-Romagna, Italy2023 Hawaii wildfiresAugust 8–16, 2023Hawaii (particularly the island of Maui)Hurricane HilaryAugust 16–21, 2023Western Mexico, Revillagigedo Islands, Baja California peninsula, Western United StatesHurricane 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.Record-setting cold, heavy snow grip eastern Asia , AccuWeather, January 24, 2023 Two days later, snow fell in Algeria for the first time in ten years.Algeria witnesses rare snowfall , Middle East Monitor, January 25, 2023 In late January, an ice storm impacted the southern portion of the Great Plains, leading to closures on interstates 10, 30, 35W, and 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 early-season 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. 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.Tropical Cyclone Advisory 37 for North Indian Ocean issued at 0345 UTC of 11.06.2023. based on 0000 UTC of 11.06.2023 (PDF) (Report). New Delhi, India: India Meteorological Department. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023
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 (120 mph).
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.
November 2022–January 2023 – The rainy season in Malawi resulted in 42 fatalities from various severe weather incidents. December 26–January 25 — 2022–2023 California floods: A series of atmospheric rivers impacts California, killing 22 people and causing at least 200,000 power outages in the state. January 1 – A weather station in Abed, Denmark, measured the hottest temperature ever nationwide in the month of January, measuring , breaking the previous record of from January 10, 2005. December 18, 2022 – February 5, 2023 — A shear line system caused flooding and landslides across the Philippines, killing 97 people with 25 more missing. January 4 — Heavy rains caused a house to collapse in Matala, Angola, with two people being killed. January 4–5 — Flooding and landslides in Buvaku, Democratic Republic of the Congo kills five people. January 6–8 — Flooding and landslides in Indonesia kills five people. January 10 — Flooding and landslides in Minas Gerais, Brazil kill six people. January 10–17 — A cold snap in Afghanistan kills at least 166 people and more than 80,000 livestock. The coldest temperature recorded was in the province of Ghor. January 12 — An early season tornado outbreak causes at least nine deaths in the Southern United States and several tornado emergencies. January 12 — A lightning strike in HaOgen, Israel kills a person walking their dog. January 13–16 — Heavy rains in Tijuana, Mexico, cause extreme flooding and a mudslide which killed two people. January 14 — A flash flood in Medellín, Colombia killed two people and injured 25 others. January 15 — Fatehpur, Rajasthan records a temperature of from a cold wave. January 16 – Two EF1 tornadoes touch down in Iowa, the first tornadoes in the state in January since 1967. January 16 — A landslide in Locroja District, Peru kills three people and leaves three others injured. January 17 — An avalanche strikes Nyingchi, Tibet, killing 28. January 18–19 — Flooding and landslides in Brazil kill 3 and leave 2 missing. January 20 — Cyclone Cheneso leaves 33 dead and 20 missing in Madagascar. January 27–February 6 — Heavy amounts of rain struck Auckland and the upper North Island in New Zealand causing massive flooding resulting in 4 deaths and 3 injuries January 31 – Denmark had its wettest January on record, with a measurement of through the month, which beat the in January 2007 that previously held the record. January 31–February 2 — An ice storm kills 10 people and causes 500,000 power outages across the Southern United States.
February