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2019 was Earth's second-warmest year on record, which goes back to 1880. It was the 43rd consecutive year of above-average temperatures. The year was 0.95 °C (1.71 °F) above the 20th century average, and 0.07 °C (0.04 °F) behind 2016, which was the warmest year on record.[1] 2019 fell to the third-warmest year on record when
the following year surpassed it.[2] In 2019, Australia and the U.S. state of
Alaska recorded their warmest years on record.[1]
There is a previous
El Niño episode continuing from last year, and new El Niño episode started this year, lasting until 2020.[3][4]
Summary by weather type
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Winter storms and cold waves
From January 16 to 19,
a winter storm crosses the United States, killing ten.[5] Then, from January 24 into February, a
cold wave brought record low temperatures to the United States.
Illinois set a statewide record low temperature.[6] Twenty-two people die as a result of the cold.[7][8] Then, in mid-March,
another cross country storm came to the United States, which killed a man in
Colorado,[9] left 140,000 without power in
Texas,[10] and contributed to the
2019 Midwestern U.S. floods, which caused two deaths in
Nebraska and one in
Iowa.[11] Another blizzard struck the United States in
April 2019.[12] In October 2019, record cold and near-record cold come down over the
Pacific Northwest and
Northern Plains. In particular, with a mean statewide temperature of 36.7 °F (2.6 °C),
Idaho realized its coldest October on record.[13] The next major winter storm in the United States came next season, when a
cold wave that kills at least seven people.[14][15] The last notable blizzard is the
November 26 – December 3, 2019 North American blizzard. Eight people die due to the storm, and over 80,000 people in the
New York Metropolitan Area lose power.[16]
Floods
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In late January and early February, the Australian city of
Townsville experienced
record flooding when a stalled but very active monsoon trough that was bought down by
Tropical Low 13U, caused an overflowing of the
Ross River Dam.[17] Approximately 3300 homes were damaged by floodwaters, and about 1500 homes rendered uninhabitable. As many as 30,000 insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of the event, with damages estimated to be $1.243 billion AUD based on insurance losses.[18] 5 deaths were attributed to the event. The event came after Townsville experienced a drought prior to the flooding. One year prior to the floods, the dam level was at 13%, and during the floods the dam peaked at 244%, before water was released.[19]
An
EF4 tornado in Havana in January 2019, becomes the strongest in Cuba since 1940.[20][21] Eight people are killed and 190 are injured.[22] Later on
February 23–24, a tornado outbreak across the United States kills one[23] and causes $1.4 billion in damages.[24] Then, on
March 3, a deadly tornado outbreak spawns 41 tornadoes. One of them, the
2019 Beauregard tornado, becomes the deadliest tornado since the
2013 Moore tornado and kills 23 people, and injures 97.[25][26] On March 31, a
tornado strikes
Nepal. This tornado is responsible for 28 deaths[27] and $800,000 in damage.[28] It was later identified as the first confirmed case of a tornado in Nepal.[29] Then, on
April 13–15, 2019, a tornado outbreak in the Southeastern United States kills three.[30] A few days later,
another tornado outbreak tied for
Mississippi's largest tornado outbreak,[31] As the squall line tracked east, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were received across the Southeast United States.[32] and also became
Virginia's third largest outbreak in a single day.[33] In the second half of May, the United States experienced a
record breaking tornado outbreak sequence.[34][35] On
June 29, a rare hybrid tornado struck
Allen, South Dakota.[36] A few months later, an
EF3 tornado in Dallas became the costliest tornado in Texas history.[37][38] In November,
another tornado outbreak caused a fatality in the Southeastern US. The death was due to an EF2 in Louisiana.[39] The last major tornado outbreak of the year occurs on
December 16–17, 2019, which cause 3 deaths, plus one non-tornadic.[40]
In the south-west Indian Ocean, there were 14 tropical cyclones, including several powerful cyclones.[42][44]Cyclone Idai struck
Mozambique in March and caused widespread flooding across southeast Africa. The cyclone killed at least 1,297 people, becoming one of the deadliest recorded tropical cyclones in Africa,[45][46][47][48] with a damage total of over US$2 billion, the costliest cyclone on record in the basin.[49][50] In April,
Cyclone Kenneth struck northern Mozambique as the most intense storm on record to hit the country. It killed 52 people in the
Comoros and Mozambique.[51][52] In December,
Cyclone Ambali attained 10 minute
winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) after the most significant
rapid deepening events ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.[53][54][55] In the Australian region, there were 15 tropical cyclones,[42][44] including
Cyclone Veronica, which caused A$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) in damage when it struck
Western Australia.[56] There were 11 tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean during the year.[42][44] In the south Atlantic Ocean, there was a rare short-lived tropical storm –
Iba – which formed in March off the coast of Brazil.[57]
In the north-west Pacific Ocean, there were 49 tropical cyclones that formed after Pabuk.[58] In August,
Typhoon Lekima killed 105 people and caused
CN¥65.37 billion (US$9.26 billion) in damage when it struck southeastern China.[59][60][61][62] Also in August,
Typhoon Faxai struck Japan, causing US$10 billion in damage, followed less than two months later by
Typhoon Hagibis, which hit Tokyo. Hagibis killed 98 people and caused US$15 billion in damage.[63][64][65] In the North Indian Ocean, there were 12 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Pabuk, which moved from the South China Sea into the
Bay of Bengal in early January.[58] The season's strongest storm was
Cyclone Kyarr in October, which attained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph) in the
Arabian Sea.[66] Also during the season,
Cyclone Fani struck eastern India, killing 89 people and causing US$8.1 billion in damage.[67]
In the north Atlantic Ocean, there were 18 tropical cyclones and two
subtropical cyclones.[58] In September,
Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm on record to hit
The Bahamas, with 1 minute sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Dorian devastated the country as it moved slowly through the island group, causing US$3.4 billion in damage and at least 74 deaths, with hundreds missing.[68] In September,
Tropical Storm Imelda moved ashore southeastern Texas and left US$5 billion in damage after dropping 43.15 in (1,096 mm) of rainfall.[69][70] Also in September,
Hurricane Lorenzo attained 1 minute sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Lorenzo capsized a ship, the Bourbon Rhode, killing 11 crew members, and the storm later struck the
Azores, causing €330 million (US$367 million) in damage.[71][72] In the north-east Pacific Ocean, there were 21 tropical cyclones.[58]
Timeline
This is a timeline of weather events during 2019. Please note that entries might cross between months, however, all entries are listed by the month they started with an exception for
Tropical Storm Pabuk which was ongoing when 2019 began. Dates listed in parentheses mean the start and end dates are not specifically listed in the articles.
March 8–16 –
A blizzard, tornado outbreak, and floods across North America killed four people (1 blizzard and 3 flooding) and caused over 140,000 power outages. The storm system spawned 38 tornadoes and a wind gust of 109 mph (175 km/h) was recorded at Northeast Texas' Grand Prairie Airport.
March 19 - Monthly record highs were set across much of
Alaska,
British Columbia and
Washington State.
Seattle's high of 79 °F (26 °C) was the warmest for the November to March period. Some places saw highs that would set records even in April.[74]
July 11–19 –
Hurricane Barry kills two people and caused $600 million (2019
USD) in damage across the United States and Canada. Hurricane Barry was the
wettest tropical cyclone on record in
Arkansas and the fourth-wettest in Louisiana.
July 14 – With a low of 84 °F (29 °C), Miami set a record for their warmest night on record.[79]
August 29 –
An EF2 tornado in China kills eight people and injured two others.
August 29 – September 12 –
Typhoon Faxai, known in Japan as Reiwa 1 Bōsō Peninsula Typhoon, kills three people and caused $10 billion (2019
USD) in damage across
Wake Island and Japan.
September 29 – October 1 –
Tropical Storm Narda kills six people and caused $15.2 million (2019
USD) in damage across Western Mexico, the
Baja California Peninsula, and the Southwestern United States.
October
October 1–3 – A rare, record breaking October heatwave hits the Eastern US. Some places, like
Tuscaloosa, Alabama and
Meridian, Mississippi, soar above 100 °F (38 °C) for the first time in October. Several other locations in the Southeast tied or set monthly record highs on 3 consecutive days.
Alabama, Florida,
Mississippi,
Delaware,
Tennessee,
Maryland and Washington DC break their monthly record high for October, which was also tied in
New Jersey, New York and
Kentucky. The hottest state was
Alabama, which hit 105 °F (41 °C). The Northeast's cooldown was more abrupt then the Southeast, as by October 3, temperatures in
LaGuardia Airport dropped from 95 °F (35 °C) (where the state monthly high was tied), down to 55 °F (13 °C).[80]Raleigh saw their hottest temperature of the year and their latest in season temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C).[81]
October 4–22 –
Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon, kills 98 people with 7 missing and caused $15 billion (2019
USD) in damage across the
Mariana Islands, Japan, Russia,
Alaska. Typhoon Hagibis became the costliest
Pacific typhoon in recorded history (when unadjusted for inflation), the strongest typhoon to strike mainland Japan in decades, the deadliest typhoon to strike Japan since 1979, and one of the largest typhoons ever recorded, with a peak gale-force diameter of 825 nautical miles.
October 18–21 –
Tropical Storm Nestor kills three people and caused $150 million (2019
USD) in damage across Central America, the
Yucatan Peninsula, and the Southeastern United States.
December 18 - During an extreme heatwave, Australia recorded its hottest ever day, with the national average temperature reaching 41.9 °C (107.4 °F). This broke the record set only a day prior, when the average temperature reached 40.9 °C (105.6 °F). [83]
December 19–29 –
Typhoon Phanfone, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ursula kills 50 people with 55 missing and caused $67.2 million (2019
USD) in damage across the
Caroline Islands and the
Philippines.
^
abMario Carnesoltas-Calvo; Alis Varela-de la Rosa; Maibys Sierra-Lorenzo; Miriam T. Llanes-Monteagudo; Orlando Rodríguez-González; Armando Caymares-Ortiz; Elier Pila-Fariñas; Rafael Valdés-Alberto; Marlin Gutiérrez-Rivera; Luis E. Ramos-Guadalupe (2019).
"Tornado que afectó La Habana el 27 de enero de 2019" [Tornado that affected Havana on January 27, 2019]. Revista Cubana de Meteorología (in Spanish). 25 (3).
^"Cyclone 03-20192020". Saison en cours sur le sud-Ouest de l'Océan Indien (in French). Saint-Denis, Réunion: Météo-France La Réunion. Retrieved September 16, 2021.