LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The federal government will no longer track billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S.
Last year, there were 27 disasters that made that list. In 2022, there were 18 — including the drought here in the West that caused Lake Mead to reach critical levels.
WATCH | How will billion-dollar weather disasters be tracked going forward?
Lake Mead reached its lowest point in July of 2022, hitting 27% capacity with 1,040 feet elevation. The damage of the regional drought was so extensive that its costs were calculated at over a billion dollars.
But that record-keeping resource is going away, according to a notice on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) web page.
Here's a look at the 2022 Billion-Dollar Disaster Map
Over time, the agency had tracked an increase in these sort of events.
Here's a breakdown of the numbers from Climate Central
Last year, I spoke with Climatologist Adam Smith to ask him about the growing number of expensive weather events.
"The analysis has happened since 1980 and we do it on a monthly basis for the full United States," said Smith at the time.
He helped build the resource for the NOAA, but it appears he may no longer work for the agency, according to his LinkedIn profile.
"There are a number of drivers in terms of why we're seeing the frequency and the cost of these billion dollar disasters grow over time. First, we have a lot of people moving to vulnerable places. But of course, the 800-pound gorilla is the increasing influence of climate change supercharging some of these extremes that can lead to billion-dollar disasters," Smith said.
"With more energy in the atmosphere, more energy in the oceans, more exposure, more vulnerability, that's why we're seeing a lot of these extremes increase in cost," he continued.
Tracking Weather-Events in 2025
The West started off the year with a very expensive catastrophe — the LA fires.
"What's happening in Los Angeles as we speak is sure to make the list for 2025," I noted at the time utilizing the disaster map from 2024.
WATCH | Looking back at the billion-dollar impact of the LA wildfires
But now, the records for 2025 won't be kept.
"It's used by a whole bunch of different different organizations and people from insurance companies, to academics, to the concerned public that is interested in in understanding what the impact of these disasters," said data scientist Jonathan Gilmour, who works for the Harvard School of Public Health.
"They would rather have us put our heads in the sand, than understand the full impact of what climate change is doing to our communities," he continued.
Gilmour tells me it's a challenging time to work with federal data.
"If you have paid attention to what the jobs numbers are, or if you benefited from a food recall or product safety advisories, you benefited from federal data," he said.
"I'm really fearful of what this shows us because the announcement from NOAA came with the language that this data set is being discontinued in alignment with evolving priorities of the administration, and I can't think of anything that is more important than data that describes loss of life and cost of climate and weather disasters."
Meanwhile, drought impacts continue
Today, our region faces continued drought conditions requiring infrastructure adaptations.
This summer, Hemenway Harbor at Lake Mead will be extended 1,000 feet to help locals access water if levels continue to drop, which highlights the ongoing costs associated with mega-drought conditions.
"Just one week and you can already tell it's way down," said Las Vegas local Dustin Herman, who Channel 13 caught up with while he was launching his boat at Hemenway Harbor.
Herman said the upcoming ramp expansion is needed, but he worries it's not enough, though, he might use other ramps while construction is ongoing.
"Explore maybe some of the other ramps, but I'm worried about even those closing with how low the lake is getting," Herman said. "It's definitely a big cost and I do wish our local politicians would look more into where the water is going and how it's being used."
The recent USDA update on our water supply reveals the Spring Mountains and Lower Colorado Basin had a "dreadful winter" and experts anticipate water levels to drop this year.
Snowpack was mixed across the region with soils remaining dry, which could possibly spell trouble for more costly effects of long-term drought.
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