2011 has broken the record for the most billion-dollar weather disasters. The USA saw 12 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2011. Half of those disasters were severe weather related. Total damages from these 12 events is close to $52 billion, at a cost of 646 American lives.
Disasters breakdown: 6 severe weather/tornado events; spring and summer river flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; the ongoing Southern drought; February blizzard in Central and Eastern US; Hurricane Irene in August; and the Southwestern wildfires.