The US Leads the World in Weather Catastrophes. Here’s Why

Associated PressPublished: April 5, 2023

Contributing Authors: Tom Morton

LITTLE ROCK, AR, UNITED STATES - APRIL 02: Personnel arrives after the tornado covering a path of dozens of miles in length caused severe damage in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States on April 02, 2023. Tornadoes that ravaged the US have killed at least 26 people, injuring dozens across southern and midwestern parts of the country. Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

The United States is Earth's punching bag for nasty weather.

The nation's weather chief and other experts say the U.S. gets hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on Earth.

Those include tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, blizzards and the like.

The reason is geography.

Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, mountains, the jet stream and jutting peninsulas all combine to brew up severe storms.

But nasty weather by itself isn't a disaster.

What makes nature's bad hand a disaster is humans.

It's where people build, what they build and how.