This is a list of weather events considered to be the most significant during 2023, in which reliable sources, surveys or academic assessments consider criteria such as, but not limited to: how impactful the event was, how deadly the event was, the impact on science, or other specific criteria. These events may be referred to as most important, most iconic, most signficiant, or the worst—but they are all considered key events in meteorology during the year.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)
In January, a cold snap in Afghanistan killed at least 166 people and more than 80,000 livestock.[24] A national low temperature was set in Mohe City, China at −53.0°C (−63.4°F), on January 23.[25] Two days later, snow fell in Algeria for the first time in ten years.[26]
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The first named tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Hale, which caused minimal damage and one death in New Zealand as an extratropical cyclone.[35][36] Later in January, Cyclone Cheneso killed at least 33 people in Madagascar and left 20 missing. In addition, it damaged over 13,000 houses and 18 medical centers.[37][38]
In February, Cyclone Freddy formed on February 4 and lasted until March 14, making it the longest lived tropical cyclone on record, surpassing Hurricane John of 1994,[39] tracking across the entire Indian Ocean, the first to do so since Hudah and Leon-Eline in 2000.[40] In addition, Freddy also recorded the highest accumulated cyclone energy of any tropical cyclone worldwide, at 87.01, surpassing the previous record of 85.26 by Hurricane Ioke in 2006.[40] Freddy killed at least 1,434 people, and left 19 missing. In May, Cyclone Mocha formed and made landfall in Myanmar, killing 438 people and more than 101 missing.[13][14][15] In June, Cyclone Biparjoy formed over the Arabian Sea and intensified into an extremely severe tropical cyclone, and made landfall in India, leaving at least 12 people dead.[41][42]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)
Cyclone Helios which formed in early February brought recorded rain and humidity to Malta from 80 years. Luqa recorded rain with a total of 140.4 millimeters. meteo.it defined it as a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone[43] as it dissipated on February 11.[44] Storm Otto, also known as Storm Ulf, brought high winds to the United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany. The highest wind gust was recorded in Cairngorms, UK, at 193km/h (120mph).
January 1 – A weather station in Abed, Denmark, measured the hottest temperature ever nationwide in the month of January, measuring 12.6°C (54.7°F), breaking the previous record of 12.4°C (54.3°F) from January 10, 2005.[50][51]
January 10–17 — A cold snap in Afghanistan kills at least 166 people and more than 80,000 livestock.[24] The coldest temperature recorded was −33°C (−27°F) in the province of Ghor.[56]
January 27–February 6 — Heavy amounts of rain struck Auckland and the upper North Island in New Zealand causing massive flooding resulting in 4 deaths[69] and 3 injuries[70]
January 31 –Denmark had its wettest January on record, with a measurement of 123.6mm (4.87in) through the month, which beat the 123.0mm (4.84in) in January 2007 that previously held the record.[71]
February 1 –0.4in (1.0cm) of snow falls in New York City, becoming the latest date for first measurable snow there.[73] Despite the minimal snow, a ground stop was still issued at LaGuardia Airport.[74]
February 2 – Avalanche has buried a tourist near Mały Kościelec in Tatra Mountains, Poland. After a few days the men died.[75]
February 3–4 – A cold wave briefly hit New England and Canada. The wind chill on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, drops to −108°F (−78°C), marking the coldest wind chill ever recorded in the United States.[76][77] The next day, the temperature of −10°F (−23°C) in Boston became the coldest day in the city since 1957.[78]
February 4 – March 14 –Cyclone Freddyforms in the eastern Indian Ocean and makes landfall in Madagascar and Mozambique, becoming only the fourth storm to cross the entire Indian Ocean. Additionally, it was the longest lasting tropical cyclone on record with a duration of 5 weeks and 3 days, and holds the record for the highest accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of any tropical cyclone of 87.01.[39][40] 238 people die in Madagascar and Mozambique and over 1,200 people were killed in Malawi from extreme flooding and mudslides.[4][5][6][7][8][9][11]
February 11–15 –Cyclone Gabrielle struck New Zealand particularly in the Gisborne and Hawkes Bay areas leaving 11 people dead while +3 are currently missing. Making it the most destructive cyclone in New Zealand since 1988.[81]
February 21–28 – A major storm complex caused almost a million power outages throughout the United States, with Michigan being the most affected, with an ice storm that left at least one dead in Michigan when a power line fell on a volunteer firefighter.[83]
March
March 1–3 – A storm complex containing both severe thunderstorms and heavy snowfall killed at least 13 people across the United States, including five in Kentucky, three in Alabama, two in Tennessee, one in Arkansas, and one in Mississippi.[84]
March 9–10 – Two people were killed and 9,400 were under evacuation orders as continuing atmospheric rivers brought heavy rains and flooding to parts of California.[89]
April 12–13 –Heavy rains affected Fort Lauderdale and South Florida, causing significant flooding.[98]
April 14 – A temperature of 96°F (36°C) at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, tied the state record for warmest April temperature.[99] Additionally, a temperature of 90°F (32°C) in Worcester, Massachusetts, became the earliest date for a ninety degree day.[100]
April 19 – Tornadoes struck throughout the U.S. central plains, including a fatal EF3 tornado in Cole, Oklahoma. The outbreak lead to 3 fatalities.[101]
April 21 – A significant tornado struck the Aung Myin Kone and Tadau villages near Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw, killing at least 8 people and injuring at least 128. At least 232 homes were also destroyed by the tornado.[102]
April 22 - Gusty and strong winds in Pennsylvania lead to falling trees that killed 2 people.[103]
April 27 — The hottest April temperature in Europe occurred, with the temperature in Córdoba, Spain at 38.8°C (101.8°F).[104]
April 29 — A microburst in Texas caused “tens of millions of dollars” in damage.[105]
May
May 3 – present — Floods in East Africa, especially in the DRC and Rwanda killed 440 and 129 respectively.
May 9 – Flooding caused a state of emergency in Auckland. 1 person was swept away by floodwaters in the Abbey Caves.[106]
In Jasper County, Mississippi, over a dozen buildings were destroyed and one person was killed by an EF3 tornado.[131]
June 17–18 – Floods and landslides in Nepal kill at least six and leave 28 missing.[132]
June 20 – Two Texas cities broke all-time record high temperatures, with San Angelo reaching 114°F (46°C) and Del Rio reaching 113°F (45°C).[133]Air conditioning pushed ERCOT power demand to a record 81.2 GW.[134]
June 20–26 – A second widespread tornado outbreak sequence across the United States leaves over 100 injured and eight dead.[135]
June 25 – Ten people are killed from lightning strikes in Punjab province, Pakistan.[139]
June 27 – Flash flood induced landslides in the Miansi and Weizhou townships in Sichuan province, China, result in four deaths and three missing people.[140]
June 29 – Authorities in Mexico have said that within the past two weeks, over 100 people have died from heat related deaths as temperatures have came close to 50°C (122°F).[12]
June 30 – Heavy rain and a tornado in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa leaves at least seven people dead another seven missing.[141]
August 28–30 – Heavy rains in Tajikistan kills 21 people.[187]
August 28 – Severe wind gusts strikes a thermal spa in Podhájska, Slovakia, injuring one person. Wooden booths at the spa were obliterated and swept away, trees were uprooted, and a camper was overturned. Tomas Pucik, a meteorologist and forecaster with the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) conducted a scientific study on the wind gusts. The study rated the damage caused IF1.5 on the International Fujita scale, with winds estimated between 144 to 216 kilometres per hour (89 to 134mph).[58][188]
September
In September 2023, 20% of the earth's surface experienced new record high temperatures, the highest percentage of any month since the start of records in 1951.[189][190]
September 4–11 – Storm Daniel causes catastrophic flooding across Libya and Southeast Europe, killing near 7,000 people and leaving 10,000 missing. Additionally, flooding in Greece is responsible for $2.14 billion in damages.[195][196][197]
September 19 – Three tornadoes, one rated as an EF3 tornado, hits Jiangsu in China. 10 people were killed.[200][201]
September 21–22 – Flooding hits New Zealand South Island causing a state of emergency in Queenstown and Southland with Queenstown recording its wettest day in 24 years and Wanaka recording its wettest day in 17 years.
September 25 – Floods in Mexico and Guatemala kill 13 people and leave 22 missing.[202][203]
October 22–25 – Hurricane Otis makes a devastating landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, as a Category5, the strongest ever Pacific hurricane at landfall.[216] At least 50 people are killed,[22] with some estimates going up to 350,[23] and $16 billion in damages are done.[217]
November 27 – A snowstorm in Ukraine and Moldova kills eight people and injures another 29.[223]
December
December 2–18 – Cyclone Jasper becomes the wettest tropical cyclone in Australian history, with 2,252mm (88.7in) of rain falling in Northern Queensland.[225]
December 3 – Flooding and landslides in Tanzania kills 47 people and injures another 85.[226]
December 5 – An atmospheric river in the Pacific Northwest kills one person.[227]
December 14 – An X2.8-class solar flare, the largest since September 2017, causes an R2 radio blackout across South and Central America.[238][239][240]
December 31 – An X5.0-class solar flare causes an R3 radio blackout over the Pacific.[241]
Researcher, Teo Blašković; journalist; watchers.news (March 14, 2023). "Large tornado hits Taif, Saudi Arabia". The Watchers. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
"Brazil - Floods and landslides". Emergency Response Coordination Centre. Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
"Peru - Landslide (SENHAMI, INDECI, media)". Emergency Response Coordination Centre. Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
"けが計106人 北部に線状降水帯 大東再び暴風警報 台風6号"[A total of 106 people were injured, a linear rain zone in the north, another storm warning in Daito, and Typhoon No. 6]. Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). August 6, 2023. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023– via Yahoo! News.