If you’ve ever paid attention to the news these past several years, you might have noticed an uptick on the usage of the term “billion-dollar” to describe extreme weather events happening across the country. By definition, a “billion-dollar disaster” is any natural disaster that exceeds $1 billion in damages. These natural disasters include catastrophic natural events such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and more. 

Every state in the United States, along with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, has been impacted by at least one billion-dollar disaster from 1980 to 2024, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Of course, the actual frequency depends on various factors such as geography and its accompanying risks and vulnerabilities. For instance, the country’s western and southwestern regions are more prone to wildfires and droughts, the northeast portion from major winter storms, and the Southeast from severe storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. 

In the past two decades, the states which have been most affected by billion-dollar natural disasters are Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Tennessee is right there within their vicinity, and as such, has also seen its share of billion-dollar events. In fact, WPLN News reports that the state has seen more than 100 of such disasters since 1980. 

“It seems like the minute we catch our breath, something else happens,” National Weather Service (NWS) Nashville warning coordinator meteorologist Krissy Hurley told The Tennessean regarding the rising number of tornadoes, floods, wildfires, and other natural events in the state. 

Furthermore, data indicates that Tennesseans should expect these billion-dollar disasters to happen more frequently in the long-term. According to weather expert and scientist Adam Smith, weather effects and climate disasters hinge on a location’s exposure, vulnerability, and climate change. 

Geography

Tennessee has a diverse geography. In the east sits its mountains, followed by rolling hills and plains of the Interior Low Plateaus, which then transitions into the alluvial plain of the Mississippi River in the west. So, while the state generally has a temperate climate, it still experiences a wide range of climatic conditions, thanks to its varied topography. 

Let us explain. 

Eastern Tennessee

Known for its cooler temperature and frequent winter snow, the eastern part of the state features the striking Appalachian Mountains. Stretching across the region, the mountain range acts like a barrier which prevents the moist air from the Gulf of Mexico from pushing through to the rest of the state. Instead, what occurs is a clash of the Appalachians’ cool air with the Gulf’s moist air, resulting in thunderstorms and torrential rain. For the average Tennessean, these events happen instantaneously without warning. This means, if you’re living in the region, you may see clear blue skies one moment and then booming thunderstorms and pouring rain the next. 

Central Tennessee

The central part of the state features rolling hills and valleys, which serve as natural funnels for cold air from the north and hot, humid air from the south. Here, Tennesseans experience a milder climate that shows off the state’s distinct seasons. Spring is mild and pleasant, summer is hot and humid, and autumn is crisp. Meanwhile, snow during the winter months in this region frequently falls in the Cumberland Plateau, whereas the rest of central Tennessee experiences rain.  

Western Tennessee

The Mississippi Delta extends along the region’s border and has significant influence on the region’s temperature and precipitation patterns. Here, the climate is more subtropical, featuring hotter summers and milder winters. The Mississippi also increases humidity and moisture in the area, which results in heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. 

The bottom line is this: Tennessee’s variable weather plays a key role in how often natural disasters may occur in a certain location in the state. Combined with the other factors discussed below, Tennessee’s geography becomes the foundation or baseline from which natural events balloon into billion-dollar catastrophes. 

Climate Change

Another factor often blamed for the increasing and worsening natural disasters that the world experiences today is climate change. Many scientists concur that global warming has intensified hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and other extreme weather events.

The biggest contributor to the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere has been greenhouse gas emissions. Along with other factors, it has caused the planet’s average temperature to increase by around 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

Scientists have also proven that greenhouse gas emissions have led to higher ocean temperature and less ice in various water bodies like seas, lakes, and rivers. 

Bottom line: Climate change intensifies an area’s vulnerability to billion-dollar natural disasters. 

Urban Growth & Development

This is the no. 1 reason that many disaster researchers blame for the rise in billion-dollar natural events. The rapid growth and development of cities and other urban areas only increases the number of people and property that are exposed to natural disasters in a location. That is, there are more people choosing to live in risky places and building more infrastructure, so it is inevitable that natural events result in costlier damages.

“The degree of societal change dwarfs expected climate changes by orders of magnitude,” scientist Roger Pielke Jr. told The Washington Post. “That’s not to say climate change isn’t important. It’s just to say that we humans are really transforming the surface of the Earth in really profound ways.”

In addition, some research suggests development is the most significant factor causing billion-dollar disasters. In particular, it has substantially increased the cost of storms in recent years. In other words, disasters have become more expensive.

“It doesn’t take as much to get to a billion dollars now than it did 20 years ago,” scientist Tom Ross told The Washington Post. “If a storm hiccups, it gets a billion dollars’ worth of damage now, whereas 20 years ago, it took a lot more than a hiccup to do it.”

In fact, WPLN News reports that there were more billion-dollar disasters in Tennessee in recent years than any other decade since the government started documenting them. From 2020 to 2024, there were 39 disasters that hit the state with an accumulated cost of $10 to $20 billion. “As we continue to build and have more people move to Middle Tennessee—that is more concrete you are putting down, that’s more homes that can potentially be flooded from this,” warns Storm 5 meteorologist Heather Mathis. “So it just adds to the impact that we get from these storms.”