For January - December, 58,733 fires (5th least since 2000) burned 7,139,713 acres (10th least

on record), which is 121.6 acres burned/fire (8th most on record).

Reco
Rank
January - December Totals
(out of 22 years)
Valu

Acres Burned 7,139,713 13th Most 10,27

10th Least

Number of Fires 58,733 18th Most 96,38

5th Least

Acres Burned per Fire 121.6 8th Most 176.4

15th Least

Year-to-Date Wildfire Statistics*

*Data Source: The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)

The average contiguous United States temperature in 2021 was 54.5°F, 2.5°F above the 20th-
century normal, and rated as the fourth-warmest year in the 127-year record. Since 2012, the six
hottest years on record have all happened. The temperature in the contiguous United States in
December was 39.3°F, 6.7°F above normal, and broke the previous record set in December 2015.

In 2021, there were 20 different billion-dollar weather and climate catastrophes, only two short
of the record established in 2020. At least 688 people were killed and hundreds more were
wounded as a result of these incidents. In December, there were two disasters: the Southeast,
Central Tornado Outbreak and the Midwest Derecho and Tornado Outbreak.

The annual precipitation total for the contiguous United States was 30.48 inches, which is 0.54
inch over normal and is in the middle third of the historical record. Despite near-normal
precipitation on a national scale, 2021 saw a number of noteworthy regional events, including an
above-average monsoon season over the Southwest and numerous atmospheric river events
along the Pacific Coast. Drought conditions persisted over parts of the western United States in
2021.

This yearly summary from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information is part of a
portfolio of climate services provided by NOAA to government, industry, academia, and the
general public to help them make educated decisions.
Temperature:

The majority of the contiguous United States saw above-average temperatures in 2021. Maine
and New Hampshire both experienced their second-warmest years on record, while 19 other
states in the Northeast, Great Lakes, Plains, and West had top-five years. Temperatures in the
South and Gulf Coast states were around normal for the year.
From February 10 to 19, a cold-air epidemic swept through the central United States, bringing
low temperatures, snow, and ice from the Plains to southern Texas and into the Mississippi River
Valley. It was the coldest event to hit the continental United States in more than 30 years,
causing power disruptions for roughly 10 million people as well as other severe consequences in
15 states.
A record-warm June in the contiguous United States finished with an extreme heat wave in the
Pacific Northwest. Approximately 14.6 percent of the contiguous United States saw the hottest
June on record. This is the most extensive stretch of record warm temperatures in June on record
for the United States.
A record-warm December in the contiguous United States was highlighted by record-warm
temperatures in ten states ranging from the middle Plains to the Gulf Coast. Another 23 states,
from the Rockies to the East Coast, had one of their top five Decembers.
The average annual temperature in Alaska was 26.4°F, 0.4°F higher than the long-term normal,
and it was the coldest year since 2012. It was also the second year in a row with near-average
annual statewide temperatures, in contrast to the state's noticeable warmth from 2014 to 2019.
Despite the mild winter, Kodiak Harbor had a temperature of 67°F on December 26. This is the
highest December temperature ever recorded in Alaska, breaking the previous mark of 65°F set
at Sitka Airport on December 12, 1944.
Precipitation:

Precipitation was above normal in areas from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and into parts of
the Northeast throughout the whole year. Sections of the West, northern Rockies, Plains, western
Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic coast, and parts of the Northeast and Florida saw below-average
precipitation.
A powerful winter storm dumped significant snow on the middle Rockies and High Plains on
March 13-14. Denver saw its fourth-largest snowfall on record, while Cheyenne experienced its
greatest multi-day blizzard on record. The region's transportation was hindered by blizzard
conditions and strong snowfall rates.
Following two relatively uneventful seasons, the Southwest monsoon season resumed in July.
Tucson had its wettest July and month ever, followed by its wettest August ever. As a
consequence, flash floods and deaths caused by heavy rain were contrasted with beneficial
rainfall obtained from these storms in drought-stricken areas across the West and Southwest.
From October through December, multiple significant atmospheric river events along the West
Coast dumped a lot of rain and snow on various western states and mountain ranges. Drought
severity and coverage were decreased in certain western states, while end-of-year snowfall in the
Sierra Nevada range exceeded 200 percent of normal at the conclusion of the calendar year.
The state of Alaska saw its wettest year since 2015. The percentage of average precipitation
received in 2021 varied by area, with the West Coast region getting the most precipitation on
record and the North Slope and interior receiving above-normal precipitation. Meanwhile,
precipitation in sections of south-central Alaska and the Gulf regions was below normal for the
year. With 18.74 inches of precipitation, Fairbanks recorded its wettest year on record. This
broke the previous record of 18.52 inches, which was achieved in 1990.
According to the US Drought Monitor (USDM), drought coverage in the contiguous United
States was quite strong and consistent throughout most of 2021, with a low extent of 43.4% on
May 25 and a high extent of 55.5% on December 7. Drought conditions persisted in most of the
western United States and the northern to central High Plains in 2021, blooming throughout
areas of the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Carolinas at the end of the year. On August 17,
extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4) drought covered over 26.8 percent of the CONUS, the
biggest area of D3 and D4 drought in USDM history. The area of Hawaii's moderate (D1) to
exceptional drought rose fast over the summer months, peaking at 59 percent in July, and was
most acute in November and early December, with extreme and exceptional drought covering
about 11 percent of the state. By the end of the year, mid-December rains had almost alleviated
dryness throughout the islands. Drought ebbed and flowed across Puerto Rico throughout the
year, peaking in November with 29 percent coverage; Alaska was nearly drought free for the
majority of 2021.
Billion Dollar

During 2021, 20 weather and climate crisis events in the United States caused losses of more
than $1 billion apiece. Eight severe weather events, four tropical cyclone events, three tornado
outbreaks, two flooding events, one drought/heat wave event, one winter storm/cold wave event,
and one wildfire event, including the December 30 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado,
are among them. This is the second-highest number of events on record, falling two short of the
2020 yearly record of 22.
The catastrophe expenses in the United States for 2021 topped $145 billion, the third-highest
expenditure on record.
Hurricane Ida was the most expensive event of the year ($75 billion) and is one of the top five
most expensive hurricanes on record.
The historic mid-February winter storm/cold wave was the most expensive winter storm on
record ($24 billion) – twice as expensive as the Storm of the Century in March 1993 in inflation-
adjusted dollars.
Disasters in 2021 killed more than twice as many people as all of the incidents in 2020 (688 vs
262), and they were the most in a decade for the contiguous United States.
The United States has been hit by ten or more separate billion-dollar disaster events for the
seventh consecutive year (2015-2021).
Since records started in 1980, the United States has had 310 different weather and climate
catastrophes, with total damages/costs exceeding $1 billion (based on CPI adjustment to 2021)
per incident. These 310 incidents cost more than $2.16 trillion in total. Disaster costs have
surpassed a record $742 billion in the last five years (2017-2021), reflecting the United States'
increased exposure and vulnerability to extreme weather and climate events.
Other Significant Extremes
The North Atlantic Basin had 21 named storms in 2021. This year's Atlantic hurricane season
was the third most active on record. For the sixth year in a straight, tropical activity in the
Atlantic Basin was above normal.
Hurricane Category 4 Sam formed in September and was the season's most powerful Atlantic
hurricane. Sam remained a Category 4 storm for many days in the middle Atlantic Ocean, far
from land.
On August 29, Category 4 Storm Ida made landfall in Louisiana, becoming the fifth-strongest
landfalling hurricane to impact the contiguous United States for the second year in a row. More
than a million people, including the entire city of New Orleans, were without power. On
September 1, remnants of Ida interacted with a frontal system, bringing tremendous rainfall,
powerful tornadoes, and several deaths to portions of the Northeast. Storm Ida was the season's
most powerful landfalling and damaging hurricane, with end-of-year damage estimates of $75
billion.
The western United States experienced an active wildfire season, with more than 7.1 million
acres consumed, accounting for 96% of the 10-year average.
The Dixie Fire, the second-largest in California history, scorched about 964,000 acres in 2021.
Throughout most of the season, smoke from many big fires caused air quality and health
problems throughout the West and contiguous United States.
Wildfire activity in Alaska was below average, with approximately 253,000 acres consumed in
2021 — only 22% of the 2011-2020 average.
Snowfall in the Sierra Nevada range and sections of the northern Rockies was continuously
below normal during the 2020-2021 winter season. Several storm systems in January and a cold-
air outbreak in February dumped heavy snow on the Lower 48. By February 16, snow had
covered 73.2 percent of the contiguous United States, the highest daily total in recorded history.
In March, sections of the central Rockies and High Plains saw record snowfall, while in April,
the Ohio Valley and Northeast received record snowfall.
With 1,376 tornadoes reported, the preliminary tornado count for 2021 was higher than average
across the contiguous United States. By early January 2022, 193 December tornadoes had been
verified, the most for any December on record and almost double the previous high of 97 in
2002.
The most notable events during the year include two outbreaks on March 17 and March 25
across Dixie Alley, with a combined total of about 100 tornadoes, including an EF-4 tornado, an
outbreak in Iowa on July 14, the December 10-11 Mid-Mississippi River Valley Tornado event
that spawned two EF-4 tornadoes, and the December 15 Midwest derecho event that produced
more than 60 tornadoes across Nebraska and Iowa — the most tornadoes confirmed on any day
There were no EF-5 tornadoes reported in 2021. The most recent tornado with an EF-5 rating
happened in 2013.
In 2021, parts of the Northeast, particularly Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New
York, had an extremely active tornado season, with seven days of severe weather causing more
than 30 tornadoes.
On December 10-11, the Mid-Mississippi River Valley saw an unprecedented severe weather
event known as the Quad State Tornadoes, which spawned two long-tracked EF-4 tornadoes
spanning Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The tornado track was over 166 miles
long, including Kentucky and a tiny piece of Tennessee. This is a December record length, the
longest-tracked tornado on record in Kentucky, and the ninth-longest tornado track on record in
the United States. Damage estimates are now in excess of $3.9 billion.
The US Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) for 2021 was 115 percent above normal, ranking third
in the 112-year record, and second when the tropical cyclone indicator was taken into account.
Warm maximum and minimum temperature extremes over most of the United States, as well as
dry Palmer Drought Severity Index values and extremes in 1-day precipitation across the United
States, all contributed to this high USCEI rating. The USCEI is an indicator that measures
temperature, precipitation, drought, and landfalling tropical cyclones that fall in the higher or
lower 10% of the record over the contiguous United States.