Central and Eastern Severe Weather
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.5 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.5 billion at the time).
What the offices filed during it
The 36 most significant severe storm episodes filed in these dates, colored by kind.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Losses, 2024 dollars
- $1.5 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.5 billion
- Deaths
- 0
The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.
By state, as filed
| State | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 54 | 0 | 4 | $4.4 million |
| Michigan | 17 | 0 | 0 | $2.8 million |
| Alabama | 21 | 0 | 0 | $92,000 |
| Georgia | 53 | 0 | 0 | $65,000 |
| Kentucky | 60 | 0 | 0 | $45,000 |
| Indiana | 19 | 0 | 0 | $36,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | 0 | 0 | $33,000 |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 0 | $31,000 |
| South Carolina | 18 | 0 | 0 | $11,000 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| West Virginia | 26 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| North Carolina | 5 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | $8,000 |
| Illinois | 92 | 0 | 1 | |
| Tennessee | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Damaging Wind in Oregon, February 26, 2024Thunderstorms or showers in a post-frontal airmass generated damaging wind near Lacomb.
- Hail in Ohio, February 27 to 28, 2024North-central and northeast OH resided within the warm sector from 7 AM on the 27th through 7 AM EST on the 28th. Simultaneously, a surface low moved east-northeastward from southern MN to near Georgian Bay and allowed the trailing cold front to sweep eastward to western OH.
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Tennessee, February 27 to 28, 2024A powerful upper jet and an approaching cold front help fuel strong synoptic winds that delivered high non-thunderstorm winds across East Tennessee, then a line of severe thunderstorms produced damaging straight line winds.
- Tornado and Hail in Illinois, February 27, 2024A strong cold front coupled with an anomalously warm air mass (highs in the 70s that broke records for the day, month, and season) and sufficient moisture set the stage for the development of severe thunderstorms across portions of northwest Illinois between 4 PM and 7 PM on…
- Tornadoes and Flood in Illinois, February 27, 2024Following summer-like, record warmth, severe thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon of February 27th over northwest Illinois and spread east through the evening across the Chicago metro area. A total of 11 tornadoes touched down in Illinois.
- Hail in Wisconsin, February 27, 2024A line of thunderstorms formed along a strong cold front. A couple reports of nickel sized hail was received.
- Hail in Michigan, February 27, 2024High temperatures soared into the 60s and 70s ahead of a dry-line type feature which sparked hail- and damaging-wind producing thunderstorms.
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, February 27 to 28, 2024Record high temperatures were set across the area on February 27th, and the unseasonably warm and relatively humid airmass set the stage for an early season severe weather event.
- Tornado in Indiana, February 27, 2024Following summer-like, record warmth, severe thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon of February 27th over northwest Illinois and spread east through the evening across the Chicago metro area. One tornado touched down in Indiana on the north side of Gary.
- Hail in Michigan, February 27 to 28, 2024A strong cold front swept across Michigan during the evening of February 27th into the early morning of February 28th, preceded by summer-like, record high temperatures on the 27th, and followed by seasonably cold, winter-like conditions on the 28th.
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, February 28, 2024Record February high temperatures in the lower 70s created enough instability to allow for strong thunderstorms as a very strong cold front pushed through during the overnight hours. A few thunderstorms reached severe limits, highlighted by an EF-2 tornado in Grand Blanc.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Ohio, February 28, 2024Showers and thunderstorms developed during the early morning hours ahead of a cold front moving through the Ohio Valley.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, February 28, 2024An anomalously highly sheared environment combined with moderate instability, under a passing jet streak amid an approaching cold frontal zone, to produce scattered thunderstorms after midnight.
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, February 28, 2024High temperatures soared into the 60s and 70s ahead of a dry-line type feature which sparked hail- and damaging-wind producing thunderstorms.
- Hail in Illinois, February 28, 2024Record-breaking warmth occurred across central Illinois on February 27th as afternoon high temperatures soared well into the 70s to around 80 degrees.
- Hail in Pennsylvania, February 28, 2024Northwest PA resided in the warm sector from 7 AM on the 27th through 7 AM EST on the 28th. Simultaneously, a surface low moved east-northeastward from southern MN to near Georgian Bay and allowed the trailing cold front to sweep eastward to western OH.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, February 28, 2024On the afternoon of the 27th, a warm front had moved through and northeast of the forecast area, with a cold front situated to the northwest. Strong southerly winds advected plenty of moisture with dew points into the 60s at southern sites.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, February 28, 2024Ahead of a cold front in the early morning hours of February 28, 2024, a line of convection moved east through central Kentucky in an environment of limited instability and high shear. This helped to produce severe hail and wind damage across north-central Kentucky.
- Damaging Wind in Indiana, February 28, 2024Showers and thunderstorms developed during the early morning hours ahead of a cold front moving through the Ohio Valley.
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, February 28, 2024A strong upper-level low tracked through the Great Lakes and into the Ohio River Valley early on February 28th. Nocturnal convection was mainly elevated before 5 AM, with a few hail reports noted.
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, February 28, 2024A cold front moved through eastern Kentucky during the morning hours of February 28. Strong winds aloft were able to mix down to the surface with the storms that formed along the boundary, leading to numerous trees down and high wind gusts across much of eastern Kentucky.
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 28, 2024A quick-moving cold front intersected an area of marginal instability resulting in a line of thunderstorms that raced across the Mid-South during the morning hours of February 28, 2024. There were isolated reports of damaging winds and small hail.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Kentucky, February 28, 2024Rain and a few storms traversed the area on the night of February 27th, then activity began to increase the morning of the 28th as a cold front slowly approached from the west.
- Damaging Winds and Strong Wind in West Virginia, February 28, 2024A strong upper-level low tracked through the Great Lakes and into the Ohio River Valley early on February 28th. Nocturnal convection was mainly elevated before 5 AM, with a few hail reports noted.
- Flash Flood and Flooding in West Virginia, February 28 to 29, 2024Rain and a few storms traversed the area on the night of February 27th, then activity began to increase the morning of the 28th as a cold front slowly approached from the west.
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, February 28, 2024A strong upper-level low tracked through the Great Lakes early February 28th and into A strong upper-level low tracked through the Great Lakes and into the Ohio River Valley early on February 28th.
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 28, 2024A squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved southeast through the region during the morning hours of the 28th. The thunderstorms produce strong and gusty winds at points along the line, with several reports of trees, power lines and minor structural damage reported.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, February 28, 2024A quick-moving cold front intersected an area of marginal instability resulting in a line of thunderstorms that raced across the Mid-South during the morning hours of February 28, 2024. There were isolated reports of damaging winds and small hail.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 28, 2024A line of thunderstorms moved across Central and North GA ahead of a cold front in the afternoon hours of the 28th. High winds aloft and marginal instability, due to diurnal heating ahead of the line, allowed for storms to bring damaging winds to the surface.
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, February 28, 2024A line of heavy rain showers and embedded thunderstorms moved into western North Carolina from east Tennessee during the afternoon. One of the storms produced brief damaging wind gusts in Yancey County.
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, February 28, 2024A line of heavy rain showers and embedded thunderstorms moved across upstate South Carolina during the afternoon. Several of the storms produced locally damaging wind gusts.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 28, 2024A line of heavy rain showers and embedded thunderstorms moved into northeast Georgia during the afternoon. Brief damaging wind gusts were reported in Franklin and Hart Counties.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, February 28, 2024A line of showers and thunderstorms tracked from northwest to southeast during the late afternoon and evening hours ahead of a strong cold front. A few storms that moved through the northwest Piedmont reached severe limits, with several trees reported down across Forsyth County.
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, February 28, 2024Some upper energy, a cold front, weak instability, and considerable deep layer shear, contributed to a band of showers and isolated thunderstorms that produced some severe wind gusts.
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in New York, February 28, 2024A quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) advanced across the area late in the afternoon on February 28 along a powerful cold front. Despite a lack of lightning, a kink in the strong line of showers spun up a brief tornado in Broome County, just south of Castle Creek.
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 28, 2024Some upper energy, a cold front, weak instability, and considerable deep layer shear, contributed to a band of showers and isolated thunderstorms that produced some severe wind gusts.
More
Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2024Tornadoes in 2024
Sources
NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.