Tropical Storm Elsa

Losses, 2024 dollars

$1.4 billion

Losses at the time

$1.2 billion

Deaths

1

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.

• Tropical Storm in Florida, July 5 to 6, 20212 eventsTropical Storm Elsa moved north-northwest from western Cuba, through the western Straits of Florida, and passed between the Marquesas Keys and Dry Tortugas into the southeast Gulf of Mexico.
• Tropical Depression in Florida, July 6 to 7, 20218 eventsA low pressure system, turned tropical disturbance, moving across the central tropical Atlantic formed into Tropical Storm Elsa on July 1st.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in New Mexico, July 6 to 7, 2021$2.4 million · 1 in hail · 11 eventsThe area of high pressure that had been centered over the Four Corners shifted slightly westward on July 6, 2021. Meanwhile, low level return flow continued which aided in keeping moisture values high across New Mexico.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Mississippi, July 6, 2021$138,000 · 7 eventsA long duration flash flooding event occurred due a stalled frontal boundary in place helping to supply environmental lift along with ample Gulf moisture to produce slow-moving clusters of showers and thunderstorms.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, July 6, 2021$110,000 · 6 eventsA mesoscale convective vortex near Laredo brought thunderstorms into South Central Texas. The airmass was very moist and some storms produced heavy rain the led to flash flooding.
• Heavy Rain in Texas, July 6 to 8, 2021$56 million · 6 eventsA multi-day heavy rain event occurred over the Coastal Bend to the Victoria Crossroads from July 6th through 9th.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, July 6, 20213 eventsA slow moving surface to mid level low pressure system developed over the Coastal Bend of south Texas on July 6th. This was the start of a multi-day heavy rain event across the Coastal Bend as the low pressure system remained nearly stationary through the 8th of July.
• Flash Flooding in Alabama, July 6 to 7, 20212 eventsHeavy rain led to a few flooding reports across southwest Alabama.
• Flooding in Texas, July 6 to 9, 20215 eventsHeavy rainfall over several days led to major flooding on some rivers and creeks in south Texas from July 6th through July 9th. The Aransas River and Oso and Copano Creeks went into major flood stage due to the heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, July 6, 2021$285,000 · 7 eventsA slow-moving low pressure system drew in ample amounts of Gulf moisture on July 6th, allowing for very heavy rainfall to occur across portions of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
• Flood and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, July 6, 202152 kt wind · 2 eventsScattered thunderstorms moved through southwest Nebraska the afternoon of July 6 and produced damaging winds in Lincoln County and flooding in Custer County.
• Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Florida, July 6 to 9, 2021$245,000 · 38 eventsHurricane Elsa originated from a tropical depression that formed in the central Atlantic east of the Windward Islands on June 30th.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, July 6, 2021$7,000 · 3 eventsThunderstorms moved across parts of southeast Minnesota during the late afternoon of July 6th. Winds from these storms blew down trees and branches in Rochester (Olmsted County) and a tree fell on a house in Winona (Winona County) after being uprooted.
• Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 6, 20211 eventTraining storms developed over the east slopes of the Sacramento Mountains as modest moisture remained in place with a disturbance moving through north-northeast flow aloft.
• Tornado and Flash Flooding in Colorado, July 6, 202152 kt wind · 7 eventsAnother active day with showers and thunderstorms occurring across southern Colorado, especially along the eastern mountains and into the I-25 corridor. While there was an isolated severe threat, the main risk on this day was heavy rainfall with flash flooding.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 6, 202170 kt wind · 4 eventsA cold front slowly moved across the CWA producing some heavy rains across western counties up to 2 inches with flash flooding. Isolated severe wind gusts were observed.
• Tornado and Hail in Montana, July 6 to 7, 20211.75 in hail · 16 eventsA shortwave trough over the Pacific Northwest began to compromise the ridge in place and introduced a more moist and unstable southwesterly flow to the Northern Rockies.
• Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 6, 20211 eventA persistent weather pattern and an abundant amount of moisture remained locked in place across New Mexico on July 5, 2021. This resulted in yet another active monsoon day across northern and central New Mexico with numerous showers and thunderstorms across the area.
• Flash Flood in Louisiana, July 7, 20211 eventA flash flooding event occurred due a stalled frontal boundary in place helping to supply environmental lift along with ample Gulf moisture to produce slow-moving clusters of showers and thunderstorms.
• Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in Florida, July 7 to 8, 20211 death · $3,000 · EF1 · 26 eventsTropical Storm Elsa tracked NNE across the western tier of the local forecast area through the day on Wed, July 7th. The storm made landfall along the FL Big Bend coast.
• Flooding in Texas, July 7, 20212 eventsThe combination of frontal boundaries and a very moist and unstable atmosphere had led to thunderstorms across the Texas Panhandle with heavy rainfall.
• Tropical Storm and Storm Surge in Florida, July 7, 2021$90,000 · 11 eventsElsa made landfall as a strong tropical storm across the southeast big bend of Florida on July 7th. Impacts included several trees and power lines blown down along with coastal flooding from storm surge and flash flooding from heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, July 7, 2021$510,000 · 7 eventsA slow moving surface to mid level low pressure system developed over the Coastal Bend of south Texas on July 6th. This was the start of a multi-day heavy rain event across the Coastal Bend as the low pressure system remained nearly stationary through the 8th of July.
• Tropical Storm and Flash Flooding in Georgia, July 7, 2021$10,000 · 6 eventsElsa made landfall as a strong tropical storm across the southeast big bend of Florida on July 7th. Impacts included several trees and power lines blown down along with coastal flooding from storm surge and flash flooding from heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flooding in Mississippi, July 7, 2021$62,000 · 6 eventsA moist airmass was in place and contributed to flash flooding across the region during the afternoon hours.
• Tornado and Tropical Storm in Georgia, July 7, 202117 injured · EF1 · 9 eventsTropical Storm Elsa tracked NNE across the western tier of the local forecast area through the day on Wed, July 7th. The storm made landfall along the FL Big Bend coast.
• Heavy Rain in Iowa, July 7, 20215 eventsA cold front pushed across the state through the day on July 7th, creating a trigger for diurnal convection in southern Iowa for convection in the warm and humid sector of the surface low to the north.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Pennsylvania, July 7, 2021$579,000 · 1 in hail · 55 eventsA nearly stationary front remained to the north of the region on July 7th. An upper trough dug across the Great Lakes during the daytime hours as well.
• Flood and Hail in Massachusetts, July 7, 2021$21,000 · 1 in hail · 16 eventsA hot, humid air mass was in place across southern New England, with high downdraft CAPE when a cold front pushed into southern New England in the late afternoon and evening hours.
• Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, July 7, 2021$43,000 · 50 kt wind · 8 eventsAn unstable atmosphere was in place on the afternoon of July 7th ahead of a cold frontal passage. Scattered thunderstorms crossed through the state during the heat of the afternoon and resulted in strong wind gusts that blew down several trees in the region.
• Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, July 7, 20212 eventsScattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of the 7th ahead of a cold front across northern Oklahoma, with storms repeatedly training over portions of the Enid area. Reports of flash flooding were received with these storms.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in New York, July 7, 2021$12,000 · 51 kt wind · 8 eventsA nearly stationary boundary just south of Lake Ontario divided a moist unstable air mass from a much cooler one. Instability was generating a CAPE of around 2000 J/Kg south of the boundary by late afternoon, but wind shear was limited with 700 hPa winds only around 20 knots.
• Tornado and Tropical Storm in Georgia, July 7 to 8, 20211 injured · EF1 · 6 eventsElsa initially developed as a Tropical Depression over the central tropical Atlantic late in the evening of June 30th, 2021.
• Heavy Rain in Illinois, July 7, 20214 deaths · 1 injured · 1 eventA slow-moving cold front draped across north-central Illinois triggered scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of July 7th. While severe weather and flash flooding were not observed, locally heavy rainfall within the storms created hazardous driving conditions.
• Tornadoes and Tropical Storm in South Carolina, July 7 to 8, 2021$1.1 million · EF1 · 8 eventsElsa initially developed as a Tropical Depression over the central tropical Atlantic late in the evening of June 30th, 2021.
• Tornado in South Carolina, July 8, 2021EF0 · 1 eventElsa began as a tropical wave about 1000 miles east of the Windward Islands and late on June 30, developed into a tropical depression. As it continued moving WNW, Elsa was named on July 1 as a tropical storm.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, July 8, 2021$200,000 · 11 eventsThe multi-day heavy rain event across the Coastal Bend continued on the 8th as the low pressure system remained nearly stationary.
• Tropical Storm in South Carolina, July 8, 20214 eventsTropical Storm Elsa made landfall in the panhandle of Florida, then moved northeastward into the Carolinas and weakened. The storm still managed to down some trees and had tropical storm gusts.
• Heavy Rain in Virginia, July 8 to 9, 20217 eventsTropical Storm Elsa passed northward across eastern Virginia during the afternoon and evening of July 8th, 2021.
• Tropical Storm in North Carolina, July 8, 20212 eventsTropical Storm Elsa made landfall in the panhandle of Florida, then moved northeastward into the Carolinas and weakened. The storm still managed to produce gusts to tropical storm force.
• Heavy Rain in South Dakota, July 8, 20211 death · 4 injured · 1 eventLow visibility from heavy rain and fog contributed to the collision of two boats on Indian Springs Lake, southeast of Clark, resulting in one fatality and four injuries.
• Flash Flooding in New York, July 8, 20212 eventsA cluster of thunderstorms resulted in isolated flash flooding in portions of the Mid-Hudson Valley on the 8th. A road was closed and a vehicle was stranded in floodwaters.
• Tropical Storm in North Carolina, July 8 to 9, 2021$155,000 · 9 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced tropical storm force winds and associated wind damage across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Tropical Storm in Virginia, July 8 to 9, 2021$270,000 · 15 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced tropical storm force winds and associated wind damage across portions of eastern and southeast Virginia.
• Flood and Damaging Wind in Indiana, July 8, 2021$2,000 · 50 kt wind · 2 eventsShowers and thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front moving through the region.
• Tornado in North Carolina, July 8, 20211 eventA supercell associated with Tropical Storm Elsa moved north from the Pamlico|Sound into mainland Hyde County during the afternoon. Photo and video |showed a tornado of unknown intensity in rural areas of Hyde County.
• Tropical Storm in Maryland, July 8 to 9, 2021$105,000 · 5 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced tropical storm force winds and associated wind damage across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in New York, July 8, 2021$68,000 · 51 kt wind · 10 eventsShowers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon along a west-to-east oriented frontal boundary along the south shore of Lake Ontario. Instability generated CAPE values of around 1500 J/kg along and just south of the frontal boundary.
• Tornadoes in North Carolina, July 8, 2021$25,000 · EF0 · 2 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. Outer bands east of the Tropical Storm center produced two weak tornadoes across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Flash Flooding in New Jersey, July 8, 20213 eventsA predecessor rainfall event resulted in flash flooding across portions of the area as moisture streaming northward ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa encountered a stationary boundary draped across the area.
• Flash Flooding in New York, July 8, 202111 eventsA predecessor rainfall event resulted in flash flooding across portions of the area as moisture streaming northward ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa encountered a stationary boundary draped across the area.
• Tornado and Damaging Winds in New York, July 8, 2021$169,000 · EF1 · 4 eventsWarm, humid conditions supported a quickly destabilizing atmosphere during the afternoon. A line of thunderstorms developed and passed through Central New York. Damaging winds were associated with the northern portion of the line of storms.
• Flash Flood in North Carolina, July 8, 20211 eventTropical Storm Elsa moved through central North Carolina during the daytime hours of Thursday, July 8.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Indiana, July 8 to 12, 202151 kt wind · 13 eventsOn July 8th, a cold front dropped south through southern Indiana in a saturated environment. Even with moderate instability and shear values, severe thunderstorms were able to produce wind damage across southern Indiana along the Interstate 65 corridor.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Virginia, July 8 to 9, 202194 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th.
• Tornadoes in Virginia, July 8, 2021$25,000 · EF0 · 3 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. Outer bands east of the Tropical Storm center produced three weak tornadoes across portions of southeast Virginia.
• Flash Flood in Arizona, July 8, 20211 eventThunderstorms developed along the Mogollon Rim during the afternoon hours before pushing through Gila County by late afternoon and early evening. Additional thunderstorms developed along terrain features over the Telegraph burn scar, producing heavy rainfall over the area.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, July 8 to 9, 20212 eventsAn area of low pressure over South Texas generated thunderstorms that moved into South Central Texas. Some of these storms produced heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
• Heavy Rain in Hawaii, July 8, 20211 eventEarly evening showers developed over the leeward slopes of the Kohala mountains on the Big Island. The downpour caused small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways. No significant property damage or injuries were reported.
• Tornadoes in New Jersey, July 9, 2021EF1 · 2 eventsTropical Storm Elsa affected much of the coastal mid-Atlantic on the night of July 8 and into the morning of the 9th. The storm maintained much of its intensity despite a long track over land as it began to interact with a mid-latitude trough.
• Heavy Rain in Maryland, July 9, 202120 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced heavy rain which caused some minor flooding across portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore.
• Heavy Rain in North Carolina, July 9, 20212 eventsThe center of Tropical Storm Elsa tracked north just inland of the Middle Atlantic Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night, July 8th. The Tropical Storm produced heavy rain which caused some minor flooding across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Tropical Storm in New York, July 9, 20216 eventsTropical Storm Elsa with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, made landfall as a strong tropical storm on the panhandle of Florida on the morning of July 7th.
• Tropical Storm in Connecticut, July 9, 20212 eventsTropical Storm Elsa with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, made landfall as a strong tropical storm on the panhandle of Florida on the morning of July 7th.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, July 9, 2021$55,000 · 12 eventsEarly on the morning of July 9th, multiple rounds of storms associated with a slow-moving low pressure system developed and streamed northward across Cameron County.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Kentucky, July 9 to 11, 2021$26,000 · 55 kt wind · 33 eventsSeveral days of heavy to torrential rains and gusty winds were experienced across eastern Kentucky from July 9th through the 12th.
• Flash Flooding in Connecticut, July 9, 202115 eventsTropical Storm Elsa tracked across the eastern portion of the area during the morning hours of July 9, with heavy rainfall north and west of the storm's center resulting in widespread flash flooding across southern Connecticut.
• Flash Flooding in New York, July 9, 20216 eventsTropical Storm Elsa tracked across the eastern portion of the area during the morning hours of July 9, with heavy rainfall north and west of the storm's center resulting in flash flooding across portions of Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley.
• Tropical Storm and Flash Flooding in Connecticut, July 9, 2021$3,000 · 6 eventsTropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Rhode Island on Friday morning before moving into the Gulf of Maine.
• Tropical Storm and Flash Flooding in Massachusetts, July 9, 2021$2,000 · 14 eventsTropical Storm Elsa made landfall in Rhode Island on Friday morning before moving into the Gulf of Maine.
• Flash Flooding in Texas, July 9, 20212 eventsSeveral rounds of showers and thunderstorms produced flash flooding and associated road closures across parts of Jackson and Matagorda counties.
• Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 9, 20211 eventScattered showers and thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the morning hours on July 9. Heavy rainfall from these thunderstorms led to a localized flooding report.
• Flash Flooding in Mississippi, July 9, 2021$100,000 · 3 eventsA weak cold front stalled across extreme northern Mississippi. Showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rain developed along this boundary. These storms were slow-moving resulting in some flash flooding.
• Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 9, 20211 eventA weak cold front had pushed into eastern Tennessee as far south as Knoxville, and helped produce locally heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flood and Flood in Pennsylvania, July 9, 2021$46,000 · 61 kt wind · 13 eventsA cold front crossed the Susquehanna Valley during the early evening hours of July 9, 2021, accompanied by scattered thunderstorms.
• Flooding in District of Columbia, July 9, 20213 eventsA cold front stalled out over the area with tropical moisture in place. Thunderstorms caused heavy rain that led to instances of flooding.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Arizona, July 9, 2021$55,000 · 65 kt wind · 4 eventsAn isolated supercell thunderstorm moved west across southern Pima County during the late afternoon.
• Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, July 9, 20211.75 in hail · 5 eventsA surge of moisture from the Gulf of California helped trigger severe thunderstorms across Yavapai County and southern Navajo County.
• Flash Flood in Maine, July 9, 20211 eventPost Tropical Storm Elsa moved along the Downeast coast during the afternoon and evening of the 9th bringing abundant tropical moisture and heavy rains to Downeast areas. Rainfall rates occasionally reached 1.00 to 2.00 inches per hour.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Missouri, July 9 to 11, 2021$1,000 · 1.75 in hail · 12 eventsAn active period of weather produced Isolated strong to severe storms on the 9th. Residual boundaries from these storms combined with the remnants of an MCS during the afternoon of the 10th which produced strong to severe storms with heavy rainfall|during the late afternoon and…
• Flood in Maryland, July 9, 20211 eventA cold front stalled out over the area with tropical moisture in place. Thunderstorms caused heavy rain that led to an isolated instance of flooding.
• Flood and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, July 9 to 10, 202170 kt wind · 25 eventsTwo rounds of severe thunderstorms swept across western and north central Nebraska spanning the evening and early overnight hours with recorded wind speeds in excess of 70 mph.
• Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 9 to 10, 202161 kt wind · 11 eventsOvernight convection brought into northwest Missouri a strong storm complex from southeast Nebraska. Overall, this system produced low end wind damage across far northern Missouri.
• Flash Flooding and Dust Storm in Arizona, July 9 to 10, 2021$271,000 · 56 kt wind · 19 eventsThunderstorms developed along the Mogollon Rim during the early part of the afternoon on the 9th.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 10 to 12, 2021$95,000 · 55 kt wind · 3 eventsDecaying mesoscale convective systems affected the ArkLaMiss region during the overnight and morning hours of the 10th through the 12th. These storms brought some heavy rain, which resulted in localized flash flooding to portions of the region as well as some damaging winds.
• Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Illinois, July 10, 2021EF1 · 7 eventsA Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) generated by prior convection across Kansas and Missouri tracked into west-central Illinois during the afternoon of July 10th.
• Flash Flood in Nebraska, July 10, 20211 eventA line of storms produced about 3.5 inches of rainfall in Fremont and led to localized flooding.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 10, 2021$16,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsDeveloping showers and thunderstorms along an approaching warm front arrived in southwest Virginia on the evening of July 10th. One storm in particular strengthened to strong levels over Buchanan County and inflicted downed trees due to gusty winds.
• Flood and Damaging Wind in Indiana, July 10, 2021$1,000 · 52 kt wind · 2 eventsClusters of thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours over Missouri. The storms weakened as they moved east into more stable air. The storms still produced sporadic gusty winds and pockets of street flooding in southwest Indiana.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, July 10, 2021$11,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsA slow moving thunderstorm developed during the evening of July 10th. Surface-based CAPE values ranged from 1500 to 2000 J/Kg, while Precipitable Water values were estimated to be around 1.6 inches.
• Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 10, 20211 eventA 500 MB low pressure trough over the center of the nation brought southwesterly flow to east Tennessee. This ushered a warm frontal boundary well to the north of the area, resulting in a warm and humid airmass.
• Flash Flooding and Dust Storm in Arizona, July 10, 2021$352,000 · 1 in hail · 19 eventsScattered thunderstorms developed across the Mogollon Rim and International Border during the afternoon and moved west across southeast Arizona through the evening hours.
• Tornado and Damaging Winds in Missouri, July 10, 2021$2.0 million · EF2 · 4 eventsClusters of thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours. Some of the largest clusters were associated with sporadic gusty winds in the 40 to 60 mph range. By early evening, a few tornadic circulations were observed as storms intensified.

Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2021The 2021 hurricane seasonTornadoes in 2021

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.