Southern Derecho
One of the severe storm disasters on NOAA’s billion-dollar list: $1.6 billion in losses at 2024 prices ($1.6 billion at the time) and 8 deaths.
What the offices filed during it
The 83 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
- $1.6 billion
- Losses at the time
- $1.6 billion
- Deaths
- 8
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 193 | 9 | 0 | $76 million |
| Wisconsin | 39 | 0 | 0 | $919,000 |
| Mississippi | 11 | 0 | 0 | $424,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 0 | 0 | $335,000 |
| Oklahoma | 29 | 0 | 0 | $257,000 |
| Ohio | 2 | 0 | 0 | $250,000 |
| West Virginia | 10 | 0 | 0 | $220,000 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 0 | 0 | $200,000 |
| Florida | 47 | 0 | 2 | $85,000 |
| North Carolina | 31 | 0 | 0 | $73,000 |
| Louisiana | 28 | 0 | 0 | $66,000 |
| Alabama | 36 | 0 | 0 | $59,000 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| South Dakota | 34 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| California | 1 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Virginia | 4 | 0 | 0 | $7,000 |
| North Dakota | 22 | 0 | 0 | $6,000 |
| South Carolina | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Michigan | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Georgia | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Mexico | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Montana | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Colorado | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hawaii | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wyoming | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Episode by episode
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 14, 2024A slow moving low pressure system spread scattered showers and storms across West Virginia on the morning of May 14th, with more substantial rainfall amounts accrued from a wave of showers and storms later that evening and night.
- Damaging Wind in Colorado, May 14, 2024Overnight convection and left over outflow boundaries helped spark widespread to numerous showers and thunderstorms across much of eastern Utah and western Colorado as a trough of low pressure tracked through the region.
- Damaging Wind in Wyoming, May 14, 2024A thunderstorm with strong outflow winds moved across Carbon County on the evening of the 14th with wind gusts up to 81 mph along Interstate 80 near Elk Mountain.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 15, 2024A pre-frontal surface trough approached from the NW. A couple of waves of strong to pulse severe pre-frontal storms impacted the forecast area, one between midnight and daybreak on 5/15 and the other in the afternoon ahead of the surface front.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 15, 2024Storms fired up near/along a stalled front near the NC/SC border ahead of an upper level trough.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 15, 2024Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon along a frontal system. A few of the storms produced damaging wind gusts and large hail.
- Hail in South Carolina, May 15, 2024Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon along a frontal system. One of the storms produced hail in Spartanburg County.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 15, 2024An area of low pressure over western North Carolina tied to an upper-level trough brought scattered showers and thunderstorms across the southern Piedmont, Sandhills, and southern Coastal Plain during the afternoon and evening hours.
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15, 2024A thunderstorm produced an intense downpour in the town of Hinton with an estimated 1 to 1.5 inches falling within a 30 minute period, which could be as high as a 50-year Average Recurrence Interval per NOAA Atlas 14 Point Precipitation Frequency estimates.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 15, 2024After convection became locally strong to severe across parts of the Midlands.
- Hail in New Mexico, May 15, 2024Mid-level moisture increased across New Mexico ahead of a weak upper low moving into the desert southwest. Additionally, low level moisture increased across far northeast NM behind a backdoor cold front.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 15, 2024A shortwave trough helped to initiate storms over northeast New Mexico during the afternoon hours, eventually crossing into the northwest Panhandles. Additional storms developed in this area, going on to produce up to half dollar sized hail, along with 70 to 80 mph winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 15, 2024Storms fired up near/along a stalled front near the NC/SC border ahead of an upper level trough.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 15 to 16, 2024A storm system emerging from the Four Corners region, in combination with a southward sagging cold front, served as triggers for thunderstorm development across the southern High Plains on the afternoon of the 15th.
- Hail in North Carolina, May 15, 2024A cluster of thunderstorms moved into the region late in the afternoon to early evening over southern portions of Eastern NC, from Duplin County eastward towards the Crystal Coast.
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, May 15, 2024An upper-level trough traversed across the northern Plains throughout the afternoon of May 15th. At the surface in association with this upper-level disturbance, a low-pressure was noted in central South Dakota that morning.
- Hail in Colorado, May 15, 2024A boundary pushing through southeast Colorado produced a few high based thunderstorms late in the day. Some of these storms became strong to severe, resulting in hail up to an inch in diameter and even one report of a funnel cloud.
- Lightning Strike in California, May 15, 2024Thunderstorms occurred across the San Bernadino mountains and High Deset on May 15.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 15, 2024A weak split-stream upper air pattern was found across the area on the 15th. At the surface, a frontal boundary was positioned near the Oklahoma/Kansas border area, extending into the northern Texas Panhandle.
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 15, 2024Slow-moving thunderstorms around slowly-moving Middle Ohio Valley low pressure created isolated flooding concerns in Allegheny County.
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 15, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed into northeastern Oklahoma during the evening of the 15th, ahead of a weak frontal boundary.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 16, 2024A weak split-stream upper air pattern was found across the area on the 15th. At the surface, a frontal boundary was positioned near the Oklahoma/Kansas border area, extending into the northern Texas Panhandle.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 16, 2024Severe thunderstorms developed across portions of west central Texas due to strong instability and conducive wind shear. The severe storms produced large hail and damaging winds.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, May 16, 2024A slow-moving front generated a round of thunderstorms which produced multiple areas of heavy rain and flooding from the Big Country to Central Texas on May 16.
- Flash Flooding and Dust Storm in Texas, May 16, 2024A positively tilted shortwave trough lifting out of the Four Corners and a stalled cold front over the Permian Basin aided in afternoon thunderstorm development. Numerous thunderstorms formed along and north of the cold front and became an intense squall line with damaging winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 16, 2024A second consecutive day of severe storms occurred on the South Plains of West Texas on the 16th. An upper level low pressure system was slowly moving across central New Mexico during the afternoon bringing increasing lift over the region.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 16, 2024A line of strong to severe thunderstorms continued to shift east southeast into Deep East Texas ahead of a cold front early in the afternoon on May 16th.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Hawaii, May 16 to 18, 2024A kona low storm pulled deep tropical moisture over the state from the south for several days which led to periods of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Impacts included flooded roads and landslides.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 16, 2024On the evening of May 16, a derecho moved into SE TX. This resulted in extensive wind damage across much of the Greater Houston area, including much of Downtown Houston. Maximum wind gusts were estimated to have reached over 100 mph.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 16, 2024Thunderstorms developed along an outflow boundary that moved into a warm, moist airmass over South-Central Texas. Some of these storms produced large hail and damaging wind gusts.
- Flash Flooding in New Mexico, May 16, 2024A positively tilted shortwave trough lifting out of the Four Corners and a stalled cold front over the Permian Basin aided in afternoon thunderstorm development. Numerous thunderstorms formed along and north of the cold front and became an intense squall line with damaging winds.
- Tornado in Montana, May 16, 2024A disturbance generated a few afternoon and evening strong to severe thunderstorms.|One storm produced a brief landspout tornado, another produced a funnel cloud.
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 16, 2024A thunderstorm briefly became severe over eastern Oglala Lakota County, producing wind gusts to around 60 mph in the Kyle area.
- Hail in North Dakota, May 16, 2024In the evening, a single low-top supercell formed in the Devil's Lake Basin, before diving south towards the Sheyenne River Valley. This cell produced quarter sized hail that accumulated in some parts of Steele and Barnes county.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Louisiana, May 16 to 17, 2024Continual progressive flow aloft coupled with unstable air ignited thunderstorms across southeastern Texas during the afternoon hours. These storms formed into a linear complex and traversed along a northward advancing warm front draped across the gulf coast.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 16 to 17, 2024Continual progressive flow aloft coupled with unstable air ignited thunderstorms across southeastern Texas during the afternoon hours. These storms formed into a linear complex and traversed along a northward advancing warm front draped across the gulf coast.
- Flash Flood in Missouri, May 16 to 17, 2024A stalled out boundary late evening on the 16th resulted in continued heavy rainfall from central Butler County to central Scott County with the longest duration heavy rainfall rates located between Dudley and Bloomfield in Stoddard County.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 17, 2024Strong to severe storms moved across Alabama into the Florida Panhandle producing damaging wind gusts and flash flooding.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 17 to 18, 2024During the early morning hours of May 17th, a long lived derecho that impacted the north central Gulf coast clipped portions of Gulf and Franklin counties with significant wind gusts in excess of hurricane force measured, along with impacts to trees and power lines and minor…
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, May 17, 2024A band of heavy rain developed during the morning of May 17th and caused flash flooding across portions of Mississippi.
- Hail in Texas, May 17, 2024An outflow boundary from a decaying MCS over the Hill Country moved across the Brush Country and interacted with a shortwave and upper-level trough, initiating strong to severe storms with large hail being primarily reported in Webb in Live Oak Counties.
- Hail in Texas, May 17, 2024A rather vigorous shortwave and a nearby surface cold front was the focus of scattered strong to severe thunderstorms during the morning of May 17. Two small but potent thunderstorms moved through southern |Hidalgo County between 7 and 830 AM on May 17th.
- Tornado in Ohio, May 17, 2024Although overall levels of instability were fairly low, enough of that parameter, plus shear, was concentrated in the 0 to 3 km layer to allow for the formation of low-topped supercells over the Upper Ohio Valley during the early to mid-afternoon hours on May 17th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 17, 2024This day, May 17th, will be remembered as one of the more unusual tornado days in southwest Pennsylvania.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, May 17, 2024A cold front moving through northeast Montana produced strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 17, 2024Scattered strong thunderstorms developed across portions of eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 17th, as an upper level disturbance moved into the Southern Plains. The strongest thunderstorms produced hail up to penny size.
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, May 17, 2024Thunderstorms moved through Tuscola, Lapeer, and Oakland Counties producing hail and a brief landspout near Cass City.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, May 17, 2024An upper level short-wave trough and a cold front pushed through western and central North Dakota resulting in thunderstorms developing by mid-afternoon. The main threat from these storms was damaging wind gusts, but a few storms produced large hail.
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 17, 2024A long-lived strong to severe thunderstorm tracked across southeast Montana and through far northwest South Dakota. The storm produced wind gusts to around 80 mph, along with small hail.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 17 to 18, 2024During the early morning hours of May 17th, a long lived derecho that impacted the north central Gulf coast clipped portions of Gulf and Franklin counties with significant wind gusts in excess of hurricane force measured, along with impacts to trees and power lines and minor…
- Damaging Wind in Wyoming, May 17, 2024Light showers and thunderstorms with occasional lightning produced strong outflow winds across Carbon County on the evening on 17th with wind gusts around 60 mph along Interstate 80 near Arlington.
- Hail in Minnesota, May 17, 2024A few isolated storms developed in a warm, moist airmass behind a warm front that moved across the region during the morning hours. Most of the hail remained below severe limits except near Remer where hail to 1 in diameter was reported.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 17, 2024During the early morning hours of May 17th, a long lived derecho that impacted the north central Gulf coast clipped portions of Gulf and Franklin counties with significant wind gusts in excess of hurricane force measured, along with impacts to trees and power lines and minor…
- Damaging Winds in North Dakota, May 17, 2024Severe Wind was observed with a QLCS moving through the central Red River Valley on the evening of May 17th.
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 17, 2024A severe thunderstorm developed over western Fall River County and tracked eastward into Oglala Lakota County. The storm produced wind gusts to around 70 mph along its path.
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 17, 2024Light showers and thunderstorms with occasional lightning produced strong outflow winds across the northern Nebraska panhandle on the evening on 17th with localized wind gusts up to 77 mph.
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 17, 2024Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed into portions of northwestern Arkansas during the afternoon and evening of the 17th, as an upper level disturbance moved into the Southern Plains. The strongest thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts.
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 17, 2024A cold front moving northwest to southeast helped support strong to severe storms that mainly generated high winds, with a peak wind gust of 90 mph at the Grand River Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS) situated 11 miles south of the community of Bullhead.
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 17, 2024An upper level disturbance tracked across the Ohio Valley and brought showers and storms into the area on May 17th. Stratiform rain fell across the area during the first half of the day, then storms began to develop and train across southeast Ohio during the evening.
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, May 17, 2024A thunderstorm became severe over northern Jackson and southern Haakon counties for a brief period, producing wind gusts to around 60 mph.
- Hail in Texas, May 17, 2024Thunderstorms developed over the mountains of northern Mexico. One of these storms produced large hail in Edwards County.
- Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 17, 2024Severe Wind was observed with a QLCS moving through the central Red River Valley into northwestern Minnesota on the evening of May 17th.
- Hail in Wyoming, May 17, 2024A severe thunderstorm developed over northeast Campbell County, then tracked into Crook County before dissipating. The storm produced large hail to around quarter size near Oshoto.
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Virginia, May 17 to 18, 2024A training line of thunderstorms occurred just west of South Boston, producing between three and four inches of rainfall within a span of three hours. Rainfall rates at times were observed to be in excess of 3.5 inches per hour.
- Flash Flooding in Pennsylvania, May 18, 2024A passing shortwave trough created areas of showers over southwest Pennsylvania during the morning of May 18th. Localized low-level convergence led to radar-estimated rain totals of 1.5 to 2.5 inches over portions of Allegheny County, creating some issues with road flooding.
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, May 18, 2024A decaying MCV crept into the Mid-South in the early hours of the morning. The MCV packed a slight punch as it took a southward dive and brought gusty and damaging winds to the area. Radar imagery depicted microburst activity resulting in some downed trees.
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 18, 2024A decaying MCV crept into the Mid-South in the early hours of the morning. The MCV packed a slight punch as it took a southward dive and brought gusty and damaging winds to the area. Radar imagery depicted microburst activity resulting in some downed trees.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 18, 2024Clusters of strong thunderstorms with gusty winds and hail during the late morning and midday hours and spread west to east across north Alabama.
- Damaging Winds in Florida, May 18, 2024A strong thunderstorm produced wind damage in Lake County.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 18, 2024A surface low over West Tennessee triggered the development of numerous showers and thunderstorms across northwestern Central Alabama during the afternoon of May 18.
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, May 18, 2024An upper level trough passed across the central Appalachians during the afternoon and evening of May 18th, triggering widely scattered showers and thunderstorms to the north of a stationary front stretching across northern North Carolina.
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 18, 2024A stalled frontal boundary was draped across northern North Carolina. Increasing dew points and strong surface heating along and just south of the boundary aided in increasing instability by the afternoon hours.
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 18, 2024A stalled frontal boundary was draped across northern North Carolina and near southern and central Virginia. Increasing dew points and strong surface heating along and just south of the boundary aided in increasing instability by the afternoon hours.
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 18, 2024A few thunderstorms developed across western Wisconsin in the afternoon of May 18, 2024. A couple thunderstorms produced severe hail in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties. The largest hail was quarter to ping pong ball size.
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 18, 2024Scattered storms formed across portions of western Wisconsin during the late afternoon of May 18th and moved east into central Wisconsin throughout the evening.
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 18, 2024Thunderstorms developed across northwestern Wisconsin during the afternoon hours of the 18th ahead of a cold front and an incoming upper level shortwave.
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, May 18, 2024Scattered, slow-moving thunderstorms developed across the mountains and foothills of North Carolina during the afternoon and evening. One of the storms developed over the city of Marion and produced flash flooding.
- Hail in Michigan, May 18, 2024A cold front moving through a warm and unstable air mass generated severe thunderstorms with large hail over west half portions of Upper Michigan on the evening of the 18th.
- Hail in Wisconsin, May 18, 2024A cluster of thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front during the afternoon on Saturday (5/18) and tracked through central and north-central Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening hours.
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 18, 2024A man was injured when lightning struck his boat off of Cape Canaveral.
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in West Virginia, May 18, 2024An upper level trough passed across the central Appalachians during the afternoon and evening of May 18th, triggering widely scattered showers and thunderstorms to the north of a stationary front stretching across northern North Carolina.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 18, 2024As an upper-level trough moved over the Florida Peninsula, abundant low-level moisture and diurnal heating led to plenty of instability in the atmosphere on May 18th.
- Flash Flood in Virginia, May 18, 2024A weak surface trough over the area helped trigger convection over southwestern Virginia.
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.