WEATHER 2024 IN REVIEW

2024 was a warm year from eastern and central Canada into the central and northeast US.

Summer was near normal central into the east, warmer southwest.


It was dry southwest and spots to the east. Some eastern areas went weeks without rainfall after a wetter 2023 and start to 2024 in the mid to late summer.


Drought persisted in the eastern Ohio Valley to Mid-Atlantic and spots to the southwest. It was very wet western and eastern Gulf and southeast thanks to hurricanes.


The drought worsened and sparked large fires as the Santa Ana winds came on strong.

Tornadoes which has in recent years focused on the southeast more than the traditional Tornado Alley as Tim Coleman as shown was the recent trend, It shifted northwest into the central in 2024.


The tornado count was 2nd highest of recent years.

Hail was a problem in many areas. It did damage at my home in NH, but I was not alone by. any means.

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JB warned in December 2023 that 2024 would be big trouble for the Gulf. It started in June but eased off until late September and October. In the end it was an impactful season with an above normal ACE. The Atlantic Basin was the most active region in 2024.

Overall, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season had above-normal activity in terms of the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes. In 2024, there were 18 named storms that formed in the Atlantic basin, of which 11 became hurricanes and 5 strengthened into major hurricanes (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale). These numbers are greater than the long-term (1991-2020) averages of 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, activity in the basin in 2024 was about 34 percent above the long-term (1991-2020) average.

Eighty-five named storms occurred across the globe in 2024, which was slightly below the 1991-2020 average of 88. Forty-two of those reached tropical cyclone strength (≥74 mph), and 23 reached major tropical cyclone strength (≥111 mph). These also included four storms that reached Category 5 (≥157 mph) on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. The global accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) was about 21% below the 1991-2020 average.

As noted, the North Atlantic had 18 named storms, which was above the 1991-2020 average of 14. Eleven of those were hurricanes, including five major hurricanes. The ACE was about 32% above normal. Most of the damage in the U.S. was attributable to two major hurricanes: Helene in September and Milton in October.


As we moved into winter and 2025, an amazing cold shot and historic snowstorm in the south made the news.

A snowy street in Pensacola, Florida Jan. 22, 2025

Bloomberg noted: The region’s worst snowstorm in 130 years has seen as much as 10 inches pile up in New Orleans, according to public reports, smashing a record of 2.7 inches set in 1963. Temperatures fell to 26F (minus 3C) overnight. Similar accumulations of snow were recorded in Pensacola, Florida, and more than four inches hit the Houston area.

MSN news reported “In Louisiana, deep mounds of snow met the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In New Orleans, locals skied down Bourbon Street as the airport recorded 8 inches, smashing the daily record of 2.7 inches.

By the end of Tuesday, New Orleans had observed more snow in this single event than New York City and Anchorage did in all of December and January - and according to the data, the area around the city may have been Tuesdays snowiest place, with an estimated total of just over a foot.
\In Alabama, there was a snowball fight on the beach. The Gulf Coast had its first blizzard warning on record.

As an AP story in the Winnipeg Free Press observed: “Milton is just northeast of Pensacola, where 8.9 inches (22.6 centimeters) shattered the city’s previous all-time snow record of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) set in 1895. The table below shows how much snow fell from the storm in the south.

The snow resulted in record breaking cold temperatures across the deep south. It was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte NC and Jacksonville Fl. In Alabama, the low of 6F tied for the third lowest temperature for mobile, Al, set in 1899 according to the NWS. In Louisiana, in Lafayette, the low of 4 degrees broke a record back to 1899.

2024/25 Snow Season to Date