Report: Winter Weather Caused $61.8M in Property Damage So Far this Year

Winter weather has already caused an estimated $61.8 million in property damage in 2024, and the coldest time of the year is a ways off.

The damage from winter storms in the first half of the year may be large, but the figure is actually tracking below last year, according to a study conducted by ValuePenguin.

Winter weather damages are on target to be 29% lower than the $191.8 million in damages experienced in 2023.

ValuePenguin researchers analyzed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data to calculate the amount of property damage caused by winter weather events and studied the 50 states and the District of Columbia between 2015 and the first five months of 2024.

Winter weather so far this year has killed 91 people, a 21% increase from the 75 winter weather deaths reported across 2023. From 2015 through May 2024, 1,355 deaths were reported due to winter weather, with Texas (200), Wisconsin (118), California (68) and New York (68) having the most winter weather fatalities over the past decade, according to the report.

The report shows that from a period between 2015 through May 2024, winter weather caused $1.7 billion in property damage, the worst year being 2015, when $592.5 million in damage was recorded.

The report also found that Texas had the highest winter weather property damages ($87.2 million) from November 2023 to April 2024.

ValuePenguin considered the following as winter weather-related natural hazards: Heavy snow; extreme cold/wind chill; ice storms; winter weather; blizzards; cold/wind chill; lake-effect snow; winter storms; frost/freeze; sleet; avalanches.