The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2022. The year began with a La Niña. 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 were the European heat waves, which killed over 26,000 people, 11,000 of which were in France.[1] The costliest weather event of the year was Hurricane Ian, which caused at least $112.9 billion in damages in Florida and Cuba.[2] Another significant weather event was the Pakistan floods, which killed 1,739 people and a total of $14.9 billion in damages.[3]
Three significant winter storms affected North America two at the beginning of the year, one in the middle of January that killed five and one in early February that killed eight, and the other at the end of year in December of 2022 that killed at least 50.[9]
Southern Ontario saw the second snowiest day during the January storm, with schools and airports shutting down.[10] The storm also spawned a brief EF2 tornado, causing several injuries and significant damage in Iona, Florida.[11]
Temperatures reached record-breaking highs when they were reported at 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) in Onslow, Western Australia,[26] 114 °F (46 °C) in Phoenix, Arizona,[27] 116 °F (47 °C) in Sacramento.[28] China experienced the worst heat wave in world history during the summer of 2022.[29]Heat waves in India and Pakistan in the spring caused 90 deaths.[30][31] North America also had significant heat waves, which caused 19 deaths in July alone.[32] Both July and August saw the warmest daily minimums on record in the United States.[33][34] The heat wave in California in September nearly broke the power grid.[35] In Japan, June saw record-breaking temperatures, with the 40 °C (104 °F) threshold beating the previous record set in 2011.[36][37]Heat waves in Europe cause 11,000 deaths in France alone.[38] In Antarctica, rain fell on part of the continent, and one province set a monthly record high of 5.6 °C (42.1 °F).[39]
During 2022, 28 tornadoes were rated F3/EF3 or higher, with four of those receiving a rating of EF4; twenty EF3 tornadoes and four EF4 tornadoes occurred in the United States, two EF3 tornadoes occurred in China, one F3 occurred in Ukraine and one F3/EF3/T6 occurred in France and Belgium. The strongest tornado of 2022 impacted Pembroke and Black Creek in Georgia at EF4 intensity, with winds estimated at 185 miles per hour (298 km/h).[42][43]
The first tornadic fatality of the year occurred on February 3, when an EF2 tornado struck Sawyerville, Alabama, killing one person.[44] A tornado outbreak occurred in Poland with at least 11 tornadoes on February 17, resulting in 2 fatalities and 5 injuries. 6 of the 11 tornadoes have been rated F2.[45]
March saw a record number of tornadoes[46] and 3 major outbreaks: 5-7, 21-23, and 29-31. The first tornado outbreak, despite being the smallest, is the deadliest tornado outbreak of 2022, causing 7 deaths[47] of which six were in a low-end EF4 tornado that also caused 5 injuries and $220 million.[48][49][50][51] The next tornado outbreak caused 3 deaths, plus 3 due to flash flooding in Alabama[52] and one indirect death due to the 2022 New Orleans tornado. This EF3 tornado causes direct and indirect death, at least two injuries, and $32.5 million in damage,[53][54][55] as well as 16,000 power outages.[56] The final tornado outbreak is the largest, causing 90 tornadoes. It also causes 3 fatalities. An EF3 tornado in Florida early on March 31 caused two fatalities.[57] Total damage from the storm reached $1.3 billion.[40]
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: stops in April. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2022)
On January 5, a tropical disturbance which was designated as 03F formed and was named Cyclone Cody, making it the first system of 2022.[71]Cyclone Tiffany, the second named system of 2022, formed in the Australian region on January 9 and a tropical low designated as 11U formed on January 13, as a second system.[72] On January 20, Tropical Storm Ana formed, which caused 142 deaths and $25 million across Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique due to heavy rainfall and flooding.[73] In the first week of February, Cyclone Batsirai exaggerated Ana's impacts, causing an additional 123 deaths and $190 million in damage.[74] On February 14, Tropical Storm Dumako causes 14 more deaths in Madagascar,[75] On February 23, Cyclone Emnati caused 15 more deaths in Madagascar.[76] In March, Cyclone Gombe causes 72 deaths, with 63 in Mozambique,[77] 7 in Malawi,[78] and two in Madagascar.[79] In the South Pacific in early February, Cyclone Dovi caused over $80 million in damages and 1 death across New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island, and New Zealand.[80][81] In April, Tropical Storm Megi caused severe flooding that resulted in 214 deaths with 132 still missing.[82] At the same time, Typhoon Malakas became a category 4-equivalent typhoon out to sea.
On January 10, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service named Storm Diomedes, making it the first European Windstorm of the year. The storm killed 1 person, and 1 person remains missing. 11 days later, on January 21, Storm Elpis formed, 3 people were killed and 18 injured after thousands were trapped by a snowstorm in Turkey.[83] On January 28–30, Storm Malik hit Europe, killing 6 People. 2 people died in the United Kingdom, and 1 person died in Denmark, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Over 29 people were killed across Europe when European Windstorms Dudley and Eunice made landfall on February 16–17 (Dudley) and February 18 (Eunice).[84][85][86][better source needed]
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Stops in February. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2022)
The first deadly wildfire of the year was the Boulder County fires, which started in 2021 and finished on January 1, 2022.
December 16, 2021 – January 19, 2022 – Floods in Malaysia, locally called Banjir Shah Alam, caused by Tropical Depression 29W, killed 54 people with two missing and caused over $4.77 billion (2021 USD).[90][91]
December 30, 2021 – January 1, 2022 – Grass fires in Boulder County, Colorado killed one person, left one person missing and injured six others. Wind gusts of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) were reported and the fire destroyed 1,084 structures and caused $513 million (2022 USD) in damage.[94]
December 31, 2021 – January 6, 2022 – Floods in Oman killed at least six people.[95]
January 1–27 – Severe storms and floods in Rwanda killed 15 people and injured 37 others. Seven of the fatalities and 26 of the injuries occurred due to lightning.[98]
January 3 – A landslide in China killed four people, injured three others, and left nine missing.[99]
January 11 – A 37-year-old man was injured by a lightning strike in Greece.[107]
January 13–19 – A major winter storm, unofficially named Winter Storm Izzy by The Weather Channel, killed five people, injured 17 others, caused over 375,000 power outages, and caused damage across Canada and the United States.[citation needed]
January 16 – The storm system produced six tornadoes in Florida, including an EF2 tornado that caused major damage to three mobile home parks near Fort Myers and injured three people.[citation needed]
January 17 – Ottawa, Canada, recorded 48 centimetres (19 in) of snow, which is the second-largest snowstorm on record for Ottawa.[citation needed]
January 14 – Onslow, Western Australia recorded a temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F), which if verified, would be tied as the highest in the Southern Hemisphere.[109]
January 24 – A series of flash floods in Uganda killed nine people.[121]
January 24 – February 11 – Cyclone Batsirai killed 123 people, injured at least ten others, caused 43,500 power outages and caused at least $190 million (2022 USD) in damage across Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.
January 29 – Providence, Rhode Island set a new all-time daily snowfall record of 18.8 inches (48 cm), breaking the previous record of 18.3 inches (46 cm) from February 4, 1961.[128]
January 29 – Boston, Massachusetts, recorded its snowiest day in January on record, and also tied its all-time daily snowfall record set on 17 February 2003, with 23.6 inches (60 cm) of snow falling.[129]
January 28 – A person dies from a cold weather-related incident in New York.[130]
January 31 – The World Meteorological Organization certified a 477.2-mile-long lightning strike, also dubbed "megaflash", over the southern United States on April 29, 2020, as a new world record for the longest-lightning strike.[137]
January 31 – The World Meteorological Organization certified a 17.1-second-long lightning strike over Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18, 2020, as a new world record for the longest lasting lightning strike.[137]
February 8–13 – Multiple cities in central and southern California, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego experienced a record-breaking heat wave. San Francisco recorded 78 °F on February 10, an all-time record for the city for meteorological winter.[159]
February 13–14 – A series of floods in Oman killed one person.[161]
February 13–15 – A series of floods in Indonesia killed one person and affected over 10,000 people.[162]
February 14–19 – European Windstorm Dudley killed nine people (7 extratropical cyclonic + 2 tornadic), injured five others, caused 225,000 power outages, and caused damage across Europe. Storm Dudley also spawned a tornado outbreak consisting of 24 tornadoes, with 23 in Poland and Germany and one in Italy. One of the tornadoes in Poland killed two people.[45]
February 23- April 7 – A series of major floods in South East Queensland, and Northern Rivers, New South Wales in Australia killed 22 people and caused over $2.2 Billion in Damages to infrastructure and homes in the state of Queensland alone. Brisbane city recorded a record 678.8mm of rain over three days.[172][173] This became the most expensive natural disaster in Australian history, with $3.5 billion worth of claims paid out by insurers.[174]
April 29 - During a tornado outbreak, after a storm chase of the EF3 tornado in Andover, Kansas, 3 storm chasers die when their car skids off the road due to hydroplaning and an oncoming vehicle crushes them.[195]
May 20 - A severe weather and tornado outbreak causes one death and 60 injuries. Eight tornados, of which three were F2 and five F1 touched down. The cities of Lippstadt and Paderborn were struck by F2 tornadoes each.[198][199][200]
May 21 – A powerful derecho (thunderstorm and windstorm) struck a swath of Southern Ontario and western Quebec killing 10 people in Ontario and 1 Quebecer who was boating on the Ottawa River.[202][203] Most of the Ontario deaths were the result of falling trees, including single fatalities in Greater Madawaska, Ottawa, Brampton, North Kawartha, Port Hope, Ganaraska Forest in Clarington, Kitchener and Peterborough with one person killed when a tree hit a trailer at Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area south of Cambridge.[202][204] Winds of 132 km/h were recorded in Kitchener, while winds of 120 km/h were recorded in both Toronto and Ottawa.[204][203] By Saturday evening, over 500,000 residences in Ontario and 460,000 residences in Quebec were without power due to wind and rain causing numerous trees and electricity poles to fall down.[202][204][205] Many buildings, cars, electricity polls and hydro transmission towers across Southern Ontario (including over 800 electricity polls and four hydro transmission towers) and in parts of Quebec were damaged by falling trees and branches or by the fierce winds alone.[202][204][205]
May 22 – Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in northeastern parts of Bangladesh and in the state of Assam, India, leaving millions stranded and 41 dead.[206]
May 28–31 – Hurricane Agatha became the strongest hurricane to make landfall along the Pacific coast of Mexico in the month of May since records began in 1949.[207] On the afternoon of May 30, the hurricane made landfall just west of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). Agatha weakened rapidly as it moved inland, and soon dissipated. Heavy rain brought by the storm triggered landslides and flash flooding, killing at least 9 and leaving 6 missing in Oaxaca.[208]
June 2–6 – Potential Tropical Cyclone One, which later became Tropical Storm Alex, strikes Cuba and Florida, killing 4 and dumping over a foot of rain.[210] The storm caused at least $104,000 in damage.[211]
June 13–14 – The 2022 Great Lakes Derecho causes severe damage in parts of Indiana and Ohio,[213] particularly in Fort Wayne and Holmes County, leaving more than 400,000 households in the Midwest without power. The derecho produced wind gusts of 70 to 80 mph, and a gust of 98 mph was recorded at Fort Wayne International Airport, breaking the previous record of 91 mph. A heat wave followed, worsening conditions for those without power. Many towns and villages were inaccessible until clean-up work could begin, as a result of fallen trees, power lines and other debris. Much of the damage in Ohio has been attributed to a macroburst. Three confirmed EF1 tornadoes touched down in Ohio, and at least one death occurred as a result of this storm in Indiana.[214]
July 11 – The city of Paysandú, Uruguay was hit with a squall line with winds of up to 160 km/h. Trees were uprooted, and more than 30,000 residents suffered power outages. A newspaper building, costing about 1.2 million US dollars, was lost, along with several radio antennas. Around a thousand roofs were severely damaged or blown off.[220][221]
July 20 – Heat records tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave.[223]
July 21 – China endures summer of extreme weather as record rainfall and scorching heat wave cause havoc.[224]
July 21 - A girl dies due to a falling tree in a severe thunderstorm in Maine.[225]
July 24–26 – Severe floods began in Missouri on July 24, culminating during July 25 and 26, when St. Louis broke its previous 1915 record for the most rainfall in a span of 24 hours.[226] Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency on July 26. Over one hundred people were rescued from floods, and two people were killed.[227]
July 27–28 – Historic flooding occurred in Kentucky, with the Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, declaring a state of emergency saying “We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history.”[229] More than 700 homes were flooded as a result of rainfall 600 percent more than normal.[230][231] On July 29, PresidentJoe Biden declared that a major disaster existed in Kentucky and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides.[232] At least 37 people have been killed with multiple others still missing.[233]
August 4 - A lightning strike outside the White House kills three people and injures another.[236]
August 5 - Flash floods in Death Valley National Park resulted in more than 1,000 visitors and park staff stranded. The 1.46 inches (37 mm) of rain there was a record for August.[237]
August 7 - Flash flooding around Seoul, South Korea killed 9 people. Some areas of Seoul received rainfall that hadn't been seen in 80 years.[238]
August 9 - A thunderstorm knocks down a tree in Georgia, killing 2 people and injuring 3 others.[239]
August 28 – September 6 - Typhoon Hinnamnor, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Henry, kills 12 with 1 missing, and causes $1.21 billion in damage around Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and North Korea.
August 29 - Three people die in severe storms in the Midwest. Over 700,000 customers in Michigan lose power. Winds gusted up to 81 miles per hour (130 km/h).[240]
August 31 - A hailstorm in Spain resulted in one death and 50 injuries.[241]
September 1 – A temperature of 127 °F (53 °C) is recorded in Furnace Creek, California, United States, breaking the record for the highest September temperature ever recorded in the world.[243]
September 3 – Deadly flash flooding in Indiana kills one person.[244]
September 13 — A gustnado impacts a seven mile path in Arizona. In December 2022, the National Centers for Environmental Information published its entry into the Storm Event Database. In that entry, they marked it as an EF0 tornado, stating, “A tornado formed and traveled along the leading edge of a thunderstorm outflow boundary (gustnado)”. This marks the first ever gustnado to receive a rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale.[249]
September 17–18 – Flooding in Western Alaska as a result of the passage of ExtratropicalCyclone Merbok through the Aleutian Islands into the Bering Sea. Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a state of emergency in the region before the cyclone hit.[252] The barometric pressure at the storm's center reached a low of 937 mbar (27.67 inHg) as it approached the Aleutian Islands. Dangerous storm surge inundated several coastal villages and towns. Water levels in Unalakleet peaked at around 12.5 ft (3.8 m), which was among its largest peaks on record. Significant flooding and gale force winds were also reported in Golovin, Nome, Shaktoolik and Kotlik. Despite the widespread coastal flooding no injuries were reported.[253]
September 21–30 - Typhoon Noru, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Karding, kills 40 and causes damage across Philippines and Vietnam.
October 16 — Seattle sets breaks a daily heat record for the day by 16 °F (9 °C), and with a temperature of 88 °F (31 °C), is only one degree shy of tying the monthly record high.[260]
October 26 – November 3 — Tropical Storm Nalgae, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Paeng has killed 164 and caused $237 million in damages.[citation needed]
October 28 - Burlington, Vermont recorded its first freeze, which became the latest first freeze since the National Weather Service recorded temperatures at Burlington International Airport, and latest since 1920 in general, when temperatures were recorded closer to the lake.[262]
November 6–7 - A record breaking November heat waves shatters records across the Eastern United States. Burlington, Vermont reached 76 °F (24 °C), the latest so late in the year. Atlanta hit 83 °F (28 °C), which tied for the hottest temperature so late in the year. Harlingen, Texas hit 92 °F (33 °C) which also tied for the hottest so late in the year. Washington DC and Baltimore had lows of 66 °F (19 °C) and 64 °F (18 °C), the warmest so late in the year. Portland, Maine set a record for warmest November low, at 59 °F (15 °C), after a monthly record high of 75 °F (24 °C).[264] On November 7, it was so warm several places set monthly high temperature records, including Islip at 80 °F (27 °C), and New Orleans at 90 °F (32 °C).[265]
November 7–12 - Hurricane Nicole kills 11 people across the Dominican Republic and the United States.[266][267]
November 18 - The earliest trace of snow occurred in Dallas.[268]
November 18—20 - 2022 Philippine floods - An intertropical convergence zone and a low pressure area caused floods and rain in the Philippines, killing 5.[269][270][271]
November 20 - A flood in Albania killed two people and caused damage to infrastructure and buildings.[272][273][274]
November 24 - Two people were killed due to torrential rainfall in Saudi Arabia. Over 6 hours, 7 inches (18 cm) fell.[276] This became the heaviest rainstorm on record for Jeddah.[277]
December 21–26 — A powerful winter storm, unofficially named Winter Storm Elliott by The Weather Channel, kills at least 100 people, cuts power to over 7.7 million customers, disrupts travel, and sets many record-breaking low temperatures across the United States and Canada, with Casper, Wyoming setting an all-time record low at −42 °F (−41 °C).[283][284]
December 24–25 — A snowstorm in Japan kills 17 people.[285][286]
December 27 - A storm spreads high winds across Oregon, leading to 5 fatalities from 3 crashes.[287]
December 31 — Record rainfall sweeps throughout California, and the total rainfall accumulation in San Francisco reaches 5.46 in (13.9 cm), which is the second largest single day total on record. The storms also caused 2 people to die throughout the region.[288]
June 28 – A review elucidates the current state of climate changeextreme event attribution science, concluding probabilities and costs-severities of links as well as identifying potential ways for its improvement.[291][292]
July 4 – Scientists report that heatwavesin western Europe are increasing "three-to-four times faster compared to the rest of the northern midlatitudes over the past 42 years" and that certain atmospheric dynamical changes can explain their increase.[293][294]
August 12 — The National Centers for Environmental Information publish a report called Assessing the Global Climate in July 2022, where they state an all-time record cold temperature occurred in Australia during the month. On October 7, 2022, Zack Labe, a climate scientist for the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory released a statement and a climate report from Berkeley Earth on the average monthly temperature, tweeting, “There are still no areas of record cold so far in 2022.”[297][298] Labe's statement also denied the record cold temperatures in Brazil, reported by the National Institute of Meteorology in May 2022, a month before the official start of winter, was also not record cold temperatures.[299]
^"Situational Report for TC AGATON (2022)"(PDF). National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Republic of the Philippines. April 29, 2022. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 30, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
^"Indonesia - Floods (BMKG, ADINet)". [[Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations[edit source]]]. Retrieved March 4, 2022.