NOAA – Nation hit with 6 billion-dollar disasters so far this year

“We’re halfway through 2018 and the U.S. has already experienced six billion-dollar weather disasters. These include four severe storms and two winter storms that were responsible for 36 deaths combined and caused significant and costly damage. The average June temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 71.5 degrees F (3.0 degrees above average), making it the third-warmest June in the 124-year record. The warmer temperatures stretched across much of the lower U.S., but near and below-average temperatures prevailed in the Northwest and Northeast, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The average precipitation for June was 3.08 inches (0.15 inch above average), which ranked near the middle of the record books. Parts of the U.S. experienced significant flooding, with areas of the Midwest recording much-above average precipitation. Portions of the West and South saw below-average precipitation…”