Fort Lauderdale Flash Flood

Losses, 2024 dollars

$1.1 billion

Losses at the time

$1.1 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.

Text from Wikipedia, “2023 Fort Lauderdale floods”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted as written; the full article has the rest.

• Flooding in Nevada, April 10 to 12, 20234 eventsA Multi-Day Warm-Up with temperatures in the 60s, and mid 70s (first 70 degree day of the year) caused melting of mid levels and some mountain level snow. This caused flooding to occur.
• Flood in Iowa, April 10 to 14, 20231 eventRapid snowmelt from a few day period of well above normal temperatures focused on the 11-13th of April resulted in minor flooding for portions of the Rock River Basin.
• Flooding in North Dakota, April 11 to 30, 20231 death · $1.9 million · 15 eventsThe spring snow melt of 2023 saw many areas of flooding over North Dakota due to a record deep snow pack and relatively fast melt. Multiple counties experienced infrastructure damage due to the flooding.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 11 to 30, 2023$2.2 million · 8 eventsA near-record snowfall season across Minnesota and Wisconsin led to a snowpack with snow-water-equivilent (SWE) values of 4 to 6 inches across much of the region by mid-March.
• Flooding in South Dakota, April 11 to 16, 20234 eventsAfter a consistently cold early spring with below-average temperatures and frozen soils, a mild period of weather emerged during the second week of April.
• Flooding in Wisconsin, April 11 to 30, 2023$616,000 · 7 eventsRecord breaking snowfall for the 2022-2023 winter season was received across all of northwest Wisconsin which was about 200% of normal snowfall. Much of this snowpack remained on the ground into April.
• Flood in South Dakota, April 11 to 14, 20231 eventWith below average temperatures through early spring, still frozen soils and deep snow cover, a mild stretch of temperatures during the second week of April resulted in rapid snowmelt.
• Flood in South Dakota, April 11 to 16, 20231 eventSnowmelt resulted in flooding along Oak Creek. Temperatures on April 11th hit a record 90 degrees in Mobridge after several days of mild weather and rapid snowmelt.
• Debris Flows in Idaho, April 11 to 12, 2023$15,000 · 2 eventsAt approximately 6:30 pm MDT on the 11th a mud slide necessitated the closure of SH-36 between Ovid and Preston. Continued warming temperatures resulted in two more slides in the area. As of 2:30 pm MDT on the 12th the highway remains closed north of Mink Creek.
• Flooding in Michigan, April 12 to 25, 2023$57 million · 9 eventsRapid melting of much above normal snowpack caused widespread, and at times, extensive flooding over portions of west and central Upper Michigan from the 12th into the 25th.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 11 to 25, 20232 eventsOn April 12th, the Minnesota River at Ortonville surpassed flood stage, reaching a peak crest of 12.03 feet on April 16th.
• Flooding in South Dakota, April 12 to 30, 2023$264,000 · 2 eventsRapid snowmelt from a few day period of well above normal temperatures focused on the 11-13th of April resulted in moderate to locally major flooding through much of the James River Basin.
• Flood in South Dakota, April 12 to 15, 20231 eventDuring early April, the northeast part of South Dakota, including the Sisseton Hills region, experienced a considerable snow depth ranging from approximately 20 to 40 inches. On March 31st, Sisseton recorded a snow depth of 27 inches.
• Flood in New Mexico, April 12 to 13, 2023$1.0 million · 1 eventAbove normal snowpack from the prior winter season in combination with a rapid warming in temperatures resulted in a rapid snowmelt within the Jemez Mountains and the Jemez River Basin.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 13 to 29, 202310 eventsSnowmelt flooding along the Minnesota Tributaries began in mid-April, with a few locations persisting into early May.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 13 to 21, 20234 eventsThe Mustinka River and its tributaries experienced flooding due to the rapid snowmelt in western Minnesota caused by frozen soils and a quick thaw in the second week of April. The area, including Wheaton, saw a significant snow depth of 32 inches on April 6th.
• Flooding in South Dakota, April 13 to 21, 20233 eventsMuch of the Elm River drainage basin experienced a cold slow start to spring, leaving the ground frozen when temperatures finally started to consistently warm above freezing during the second week in April.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 14 to 17, 20232 eventsDuring early April, an unprecedented snow depth of 15 to 20 inches was recorded. However, a few weeks later, warmer temperatures triggered a rapid snowmelt that occurred over a span of four to five days in mid-April.
• Flood in Maine, April 14 to 16, 20231 eventAn ice jam developed on the Aroostook River...between Caribou and Fort Fairfield...during the afternoon of the 14th. The ice jam produced flooding which initially led to the closure of the Grimes/North Caribou Road.
• Flooding in Minnesota, April 14 to 30, 20235 eventsA deeper than average snow pack from northern Minnesota into northern Wisconsin underwent a rapid melt through much of April from unseasonably warm temperatures combined with multiple rain events.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Nebraska, April 14 to 18, 20231.75 in hail · 23 eventsA cold front moved across eastern Nebraska which had observed unseasonably warm temperatures in the past couple of days. The front set off a line of storms that produced strong wind gusts and large hail.

Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2023Tornadoes in 2023

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.