Weather of 2019
The following is a list of weather events in 2019. Global conditions. 2019 was Earth's second-warmest year on record, which goes back to 1880. It was the 43rd consecutive year of above-average temperatures. The year was 0.95 °C (1.71 °F) above the 20th century average, and 0.07 °C (0.04 °F) behind 2016, which was the warmest year on record. 2019 fell to the third-warmest year on record when the following year surpassed it. In 2019, Australia and the U.S. state of Alaska recorded their warmest years on record. There  is a previous El Niño episode continuing from last year, and new El Niño episode started this year, lasting until 2020. Summary by weather type. Floods. In late January and early February, the Australian city of Townsville experienced record flooding when a stalled but very active monsoon trough that was bought down by Tropical Low 13U , caused an overflowing of the Ross River Dam. Approximately 3300 homes were damaged by floodwaters, and about 1500 homes rendered uninhabitable. As many as 30,000 insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of the event, with damages estimated to be $1.243 billion AUD  based on insurance losses. 5 deaths were attributed to the event. The event came after Townsville experienced a drought prior to the flooding. One year prior to the floods, the dam level was at 13%, and during the floods the dam peaked at 242%, before water was released. Tropical cyclones. As the year began, five tropical cyclones that formed in 2018 were still active. Cyclone Penny was moving over Queensland, Cyclone Mona was developing in the eastern Australian region, a tropical depression and a tropical disturbance was in the South Pacific, and Tropical Storm Pabuk was in the South China  Sea. In the south-west Indian Ocean, there were 14 tropical cyclones, including several powerful cyclones. Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique in March and caused widespread flooding across southeast Africa. The cyclone killed at least 1,297 people, becoming one of the deadliest recorded tropical cyclones in Africa, with a damage total of over US$2 billion, the costliest cyclone on record in the basin. In April, Cyclone Kenneth struck northern Mozambique as the most intense storm on record to hit the country. It killed 52 people in the Comoros and Mozambique. In December, Cyclone Ambali attained 10 minute winds of 220  km/h (140 mph) after the most significant rapid deepening events ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. In the Australian region, there were 15 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Veronica, which caused A$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) in damage when it struck Western Australia. There were 11 tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean during the year. In the south Atlantic Ocean, there was a rare short-lived tropical storm – Iba – which formed in March off the coast of Brazil. In the north-west Pacific Ocean, there were 49 tropical cyclones that formed after Pabuk. In August, Typhoon Lekima killed  105 people and caused CN¥65.37 billion (US$9.26 billion) in damage when it struck southeastern China. Also in August, Typhoon Faxai struck Japan, causing US$10 billion in damage, followed less than two months later by Typhoon Hagibis, which hit Tokyo. Hagibis killed 98 people and caused US$15 billion in damage. In the North Indian Ocean, there were 12 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Pabuk, which moved from the South China Sea into the Bay of Bengal in early January. The season's strongest storm was Cyclone Kyarr in October, which attained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph) in  the Arabian Sea. Also during the season, Cyclone Fani struck eastern India, killing 89 people and causing US$8.1 billion in damage. In the north Atlantic Ocean, there were 18 tropical cyclones and two subtropical cyclones. In September, Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm on record to hit The Bahamas, with 1 minute sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Dorian devastated the country as it moved slowly through the island group, causing US$3.4 billion in damage and at least 74 deaths, with hundreds missing. In September, Tropical Storm Imelda moved ashore southeastern Texas and left US$5  billion in damage after dropping of rainfall. Also in September, Hurricane Lorenzo attained 1 minute sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Lorenzo capsized a ship, the "Bourbon Rhode", killing 11 crew members, and the storm later struck the Azores, causing €330 million (US$367 million) in damage. In the north-east Pacific Ocean, there were 21 tropical cyclones. Timeline. This is a timeline of weather events during 2019. "Please note that entries might cross between months, however, all entries are listed by the month they started with an exception for Tropical Storm  Pabuk which was ongoing when 2019 began. Dates listed in parentheses mean the start and end dates are not specifically listed in the articles."