The Best Weather Photos of 2016

1 minute read

From hurricanes and blizzards to blistering hot days and massive tornadoes, 2016 offered weather photographs ranging from the devastating to the surprisingly beautiful.

Hurricane Matthew left a path of destruction from the Caribbean to the Southeast U.S. Dry conditions mixed with breezy winds and blistering hot temperatures led to severely destructive wildfires in California, with flames blazing across thousands of acres of land, destroying homes and forests.

Despite some of the devastation we have faced, there were still moments that brought joy and beauty. From cooling off in a fountain on a hot day to building a snowman in the middle of Times Square in New York City, TIME takes a look back at the most memorable moments in weather from this year.

Storm clouds dramatically illuminated by the setting sun on a corn field in Petersdorf, Germany, Aug. 21, 2016.
Storm clouds dramatically illuminated by the setting sun on a corn field in Petersdorf, Germany, Aug. 21, 2016. Patrick Pleul—EPA
Volcanic lightning is seen at an eruption of Mount Sakurajima, in this photo taken from Tarumizu city, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Feb. 5, 2016.
Volcanic lightning is seen at an eruption of Mount Sakurajima, in this photo taken from Tarumizu city, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Feb. 5, 2016. Kyodo/Reuters
APTOPIX Hurricane Matthew North Carolina
A truck drives through floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew in Lumberton, N.C., on Oct. 12, 2016. Chuck Burton—AP
TOPSHOT-US-WEATHER-FIRES-CALIFORNIA
An air tanker drops fire retardant on the Blue Cut wildfire in Lytle Creek, California, Aug. 16, 2016. Ringo Chiu—AFP/Getty Images
Autumnal colored landscape in Cologne, Germany, on Nov. 4, 2016
Autumnal colored landscape in Cologne, Germany, on Nov. 4, 2016 Henning Kaiser—AFP/Getty Images
People watch the flooded Jinsha River at a sightseeing platform in Tiger Leaping Gorge, in Diqing, Yunnan Province, China, July 15, 2016.
People watch the flooded Jinsha River at a sightseeing platform in Tiger Leaping Gorge, in Diqing, Yunnan Province, China, on July 15, 2016. China Stringer Network/Reuters
GERMANY-WEATHER-ENERGY-AUTUMN
Windmills are seen through the morning mist rising from a field in Sehnde near Hanover, northern Germany, on Sept. 22, 2016.Julian Stratenschulte—AFP/Getty Images
A meteorite-shaped cloud floats in the sky at nightfall in Beijing, China, on March 7, 2016.
A meteorite-shaped cloud floats in the sky at nightfall in Beijing, on March 7, 2016.VCG/Getty Images
Protests Continue At Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Over Dakota Pipeline Access Project
Night falls on Oceti Sakowin Camp on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation outside Cannon Ball, North Dakota on Dec. 1, 2016 Scott Olson—Getty Images
A general view of Tower Bridge and the city through the fog, seen from The View From The Shard in London, on Oct. 31, 2016.
A general view of Tower Bridge and the city through the fog, seen from The View From The Shard in London, on Oct. 31, 2016. John Phillips—Getty Images
APTOPIX Deep South-Severe Weather
This aerial photo shows, destroyed homes, many burned down to the foundation the day after a wildfire in Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Nov. 29, 2016.Paul Efird—Knoxville News Sentinel/AP
High winds blowing off the North Sea force rainwater from fields back over the cliff edge at Huntcliff in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England, on Jan. 14, 2016.
High winds blowing off the North Sea force rainwater from fields back over the cliff edge at Huntcliff in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England, on Jan. 14, 2016.Ian Forsyth—Getty Images
TOPSHOT-HAITI-DISASTER
View from the National school of Labeyi, that was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, in the commune of Chadonyer, in Les Cayes, in the southwest of Haiti, on Oct. 16, 2016.Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty Images
A tornado near Wynnewood, Oklahoma, May 9, 2016.
A tornado near Wynnewood, Oklahoma, on May 9, 2016. Hayden Mahan—AP
The dried and cracked river beach of the Yangtze River in Yunyang county in Chongqing, China. The Chongqing weather station issued a red alert for high temperatures for 12 consecutive days from Aug. 14 to Aug. 24, 2016.
The dried and cracked river beach of the Yangtze River in Yunyang county in Chongqing, China. The Chongqing weather station issued a red alert for high temperatures for 12 consecutive days from Aug. 14 to Aug. 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images
Russian paratroopers jump past rainbow from an IL-76 transport plane during a joint Serbian-Russian military training exercise "Slavic Brotherhood" in the town of Kovin
Russian paratroopers jump past a rainbow from an IL-76 transport plane during a joint Serbian-Russian military training exercise "Slavic Brotherhood" in the town of Kovin, near Belgrade, Serbia, on Nov. 7, 2016. Marko Djurica—Reuters
TOPSHOT-HAITI-CARIBBEAN-WEATHER-HURRICANE
Clouds cover the mountains of Petion Ville rain fall in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, on Oct. 3, 2016.Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty Images
Snow covers the landscape near Braunschweig, central Germany, on Jan. 18, 2016.
Snow covers the landscape near Braunschweig, central Germany, on Jan. 18, 2016. Julian Stratenschulte—AFP/Getty Images
An image captured by NASA’s Terra satellite of Hurricane Matthew as it makes landfall on southwestern Haiti as a category-4 storm—the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean nation in more than 50 years, Oct. 4, 2016NASA
APTOPIX Severe Weather
As a spring storm makes its way through the region, a plane is refracted in the raindrops on a vehicle window as it approaches the Dane County Regional airport in Madison, Wis., on March 23, 2016.John Hart—AP
Storm chasing photographers underneath a rotating supercell storm system in Maxwell, Nebraska on Sept. 3, 2016.
Storm chasing photographers underneath a rotating supercell storm system in Maxwell, Nebraska on Sept. 3, 2016. Josh Edelson—AFP/Getty Images
A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square as all cars but emergency vehicles are banned from driving on the road in New York City on Jan. 23, 2016.
A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square as all cars but emergency vehicles are banned from driving on the road in New York City on Jan. 23, 2016.Yana Paskova—Getty Images
An approaching storm looming over the French riviera city of Nice, in southeastern France, July 14, 2016.
An approaching storm looming over the French riviera city of Nice, in southeastern France, on July 14, 2016.Valery Hache—AFP/Getty Images
TOPSHOT-US-WEATHER-HEAT
Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images
When the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of Heard Island, just the tip of Mawson Peak—the highest point on the island—was visible through the sheet of marine stratocumulus clouds swirling over this part of the Furious Fifties. Though just 2,745 meters (9,006 feet), the mountain was tall enough to stir up several cloud vortices that swirled downwind like eddies in a fast-moving river, May 3, 2016.
When the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of Heard Island, just the tip of Mawson Peak—the highest point on the island—was visible through the sheet of marine stratocumulus clouds swirling over this part of the Furious Fifties, May 3, 2016.Jeff Schmaltz—LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response/NASA
Tourists watch high waves of the Pacific Ocean pounding the coast in Vina del Mar city, Chile Jan. 25, 2016.
Tourists watch high waves of the Pacific Ocean pounding the coast in Vina del Mar city, Chile, on Jan. 25, 2016. Rodrigo Garrido—Reuters
Lightning strikes behind wind turbines during a thunderstorm in Goerlitz, Germany, on Aug. 28, 2016.
Lightning strikes behind wind turbines during a thunderstorm in Goerlitz, Germany, on Aug. 28, 2016.Florian Gaertner—Photothek/Getty Images
Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse on the south coast of England on Feb. 8, 2016.
Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse on the south coast of England on Feb. 8, 2016.Glyn Kirk—AFP/Getty Images

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Kim Bubello at kim.bubello@time.com