Illinois and Missouri Ranked #2 and #3 for US Climate Disasters

When I think about the biggest climate disasters, coastal areas that have been devastated by hurricanes come to mind, but did you know that it's Missouri and Illinois that rank above almost all other states when it comes to catastrophic (and costly) weather events?

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Forbes just shared a fascinating new ranking of where the biggest climate disasters happen and how much they cost. Near the top of the list, you'll find Illinois at #2 and Missouri at #3.

How could Illinois and Missouri possibly rank so high for catastrophic weather compared to the coastal states?

Forbes shared some staggering numbers. Their data counts 52 climate disasters in Illinois over the past decade at a cost of $35 billion. Missouri nearly matches that with 51 climate disasters costing $15 billion.

The data counts severe storms like tornadoes, droughts, winter storms and flooding as part of their methodology. Looking through that lens, it's understandable how both Missouri and Illinois come up at the top of this awful ranking with the many tornadoes and flooding events on the Mississippi River that we've lived through.

The staggering part of this new Forbes study is this doesn't even include the catastrophic tornado in Joplin since it happened more than a decade ago in 2011.

For the record, Texas was #1 in America for climate disasters factoring in the many strong hurricanes that have made landfall there and their violent tornadoes.

The entire Forbes ranking is an interesting look into where weather disasters happen and what their consequences are.