A truck is covered in ice as firefighters help to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse on January 23, 2013 in Chicago. More than 200 firefighters battled a five-alarm fire as temperatures were in the single digits.Scott Olson—Getty Images
When it comes to weather, 2013 will be remembered primarily for Supertyphoon Haiyan, the strongest storm ever recorded at landfall, which slammed into the Philippines in early November and killed at least 6,000 people. But the typhoon wasn’t the only incidence of extreme weather this year. From the tornado that tore apart the Oklahoma town of Moore in May to the floods that drowned parts of Colorado in September, 2013 saw more than its share of storms, heat waves and other natural disasters. 2013 may not be as bad as 2012, which was the hottest year in U.S. history and featured 11 weather events that causes losses exceeding $1 billion, including Superstorm Sandy. But as these photos show, the price of extreme weather is still high.
A woman carries her child through a field near the collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. Sue Ogrocki—APA firefighter watches from a rooftop as the Powerhouse fire closes in around the Canyon Creek Complex sports camp during a fast run toward Lake Hughes on June 1, 2013 south of Lake Hughes, Calif. The 19,500-acre wildfire destroyed numerous homes overnight. David McNew—Getty ImagesWind-blown embers fly from an ancient oak tree that burned in the Silver Fire near Banning, Calif. Aug. 7, 2013. Within hours of breaking out about 90 miles outside of Los Angeles, the fire blackened more than 5,000 acres, officials said.David McNew—ReutersLightning strikes the Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, in downtown on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesPeople cool off in the spray of an open hydrant on a hot evening in Lawrence, Mass., July 16, 2013. Americans across the northeast and midwest tried to keep their cool after several consecutive 90-degree days.Elise Amendola—APA truck is covered in ice as firefighters help to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse on January 23, 2013 in Chicago. More than 200 firefighters battled a five-alarm fire as temperatures were in the single digits.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesA woman digs out her car after it was blocked in by drifting snow during a blizzard, Feb. 9, 2013, in Portland, Maine. The storm dumped more than 30 inches of snow as of Saturday afternoon, breaking the record for the biggest storm on record.Robert F. Bukaty—APA house is flooded by the Danube after a dam burst near Deggendorf, Germany, June 5, 2013. Armin Weigel—EPAA firefighter stands on top of a fire truck at a campground destroyed by the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., Aug. 26, 2013. The fire burned nearly 371 square miles and was one of the largest-ever in the state.Jae C. Hong—APPalestinians play in the snow next to a section of Israel's separation barrier in Qalandia between Jerusalem and the West bank city of Ramallah, Jan. 10, 2013. The storm was the biggest of its kind to hit the region in 30 years.Majdi Mohammed—APTammy Holmes, second left, takes shelter with her grandchildren, from left, Charlotte Walker, 2, Esther Walker, 4, Liam Walker, 9, Matilda, 11, and Caleb Walker, 6, under a jetty as a wildfire rages nearby in Dunalley, Australia, Jan. 4, 2013.Tim Holmes—APAn aerial image shows the devastation caused by a tornado which struck the town of Washington, Ill., on Nov.18, 2013. The tornado killed seven people in the state. Nathan Weber for TIMEA home and car are stranded after a flash flood in Coal Creek destroyed the bridge near Golden, Colorado Sept. 12, 2013. Flooding in Colorado left eight people dead, prompted hundreds to be evacuated, caused building collapses and stranded cars, officials said.Rick Wilking—ReutersA man fans flames on a fire in Tanauan, Leyte province, Philippines, on November 19, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan devastated the nation leaving at least 6,000 dead.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images
