There were multiple memorable weather moments across the United States in 2023 and a couple of those took place in South Florida.
NBC6 is breaking down the wildest weather of the year.
Record-breaking rainfall
The first indication that 2023 would be one for the record books was right here in South Florida on April 12 -- when nearly 26 inches of rain fell in Fort Lauderdale. Most of it happened in less than 12 hours.
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This was Fort Lauderdale’s single rainiest day on record -- more than any tropical storm or any hurricane. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport closed for almost two full days and more than 1,000 flights were canceled.
Canadian wildfires
In June, parts of Canada were on fire. In fact, the 2023 wildfire season was Canada’s worst on record.
Local
On June 2, smoke from Nova Scotia’s largest fire on record made it down to Washington, DC. A few days later, smoke from Ontario arrived in New York City.
On June 7, New York had the worst air quality on the planet -- its worst air quality day on record and the third-worst air quality day in US history.
Montreal would have the worst air quality on the planet a few weeks later. Flights were canceled at LaGuardia airport, the New York Yankees had to postpone their game against the White Sox.
'Hamilton' even went dark on Broadway because of the performers’ reaction to the toxic smoke.
Hottest summer on record
July marked the moment that decades of horrifying global warming forecasts came true.
July 3 through July 6 were the four all-time hottest days on record across the entire planet. July would go on to not only be the hottest July on record, but the hottest single month we have ever recorded.
June, July and August together went on to be the hottest summer on record.
While records go back to 1979, some scientists have made the case that July 6 was the hottest single day in human history -- although that statement cannot be made with absolute confidence.
Northeast's historic flooding
July also saw historic flooding in New England. On the July 10 and the July 11, parts of Vermont saw over 9 inches of rain -- which is two months’ worth of rain in only a couple of days.
Montpelier had its rainiest single day on record with over five inches and ended up with its wettest single month on record with more than a foot.
The damage to structures was extensive, roads were washed away, mudslides were triggered, and rivers crested to levels higher than with Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
Southwest's first tropical storm watch
In August, parts of the southwest United States saw their first ever tropical storm watch and then tropical storm warning as the once-category 4 Hurricane Hillary approached Baja, California and San Diego.
A wind gust of 87 mph was recorded in Los Angeles County, while a wind gust of 84 mph was reported in San Diego County.
Both Downtown Los Angeles and Downtown San Diego recorded their single wettest summer days on record.
After almost setting the all-time temperature record this summer, Death Valley set a single-day precipitation record with a staggering 2.2 inches of rain. The San Bernadino mountains saw nearly a foot of rain.
Parts of the Pacific Coast Highway were also closed because of flooding and rockslides.
Tropical cyclone rain records were set in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon with Nevada doubling its previous record.
Hurricane Idalia
Back here in Florida, we all watched in horror as Hurricane Idalia rapidly intensified into a category 4 monster in the record-warm waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The storm made landfall on the big bend as a major category 3 storm, becoming the strongest hurricane to strike the big bend north of Cedar Key and east of Apalachicola.
More wildfires
Perhaps the most-shocking images this year came out of Maui, where August wildfires wiped out whole communities in an instant. Lahaina saw its deadliest wildfire in more than a century.
At the time of the fires, 36 percent of Maui was in a moderate or severe drought. The estimates are that 2,200 buildings were destroyed with total damage at $5 to $6 billion dollars.
September saw another round of Canadian wildfires, and this time, the smoke made it all the way down to South Florida.
Air quality alerts were issued for Miami-Dade and Broward counties as the skies became a smoky blanket of brown and gray.
Hurricane Otis
October showed us another consequence of a warmer planet and a warmer ocean.
Hurricane Otis rapidly intensified from a tropical depression to a category 5 hurricane seemingly overnight -- something that the National Hurricane Center and its models completely missed.
The winds increased 115 mph in 24 hours, in what meteorologists are now referring to as not just rapid intensification, but explosive intensification.
Only one other storm in the eastern pacific has intensified faster -- Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
Otis hit a warm patch of water that was roughly 88 degrees before making its category 5 landfall near Acapulco early on the morning of October 25, becoming the strongest landfalling pacific hurricane on record.
The images from Mexico show the truly historic devastation, but they don’t capture how utterly unprepared people were because of the epic forecast failure.
