Weather of 2004

Palm trees covered in snow in Portland, Texas

In February, a snow storm dropped significant snowfall across eastern Canada.[1]

In December, a snow storm killed 18 people and left US$800 million in damage.[2]

Another winter storm produced snowfall in Texas and extreme northern Mexico, causing the first ever recorded White Christmas for some areas.[3]

Alaska's wildfire season was the worst on record in the state in terms of area burned.[4] In California, there were 7,898 fires that burned 311,024 acres (1,258.67 km²) of land.[5]

In July, Tokyo, Japan recorded its highest-ever temperature – 39.5 C (103.1 F).[6]

In May, flooding in Hispaniola killed 2,665 people.[7]

Floods affected Japan in July, causing US$1.95 billion in damage and 20 deaths.[8]

An F4 tornado in Roanoke, Illinois

During the year, there was a record-high total of 1,817 tornadoes in the United States alone, collectively resulting in 35 deaths.[9][10] This included an outbreak related to Hurricane Ivan, which resulted in 120 tornadoes, the most ever related to a tropical cyclone.[11]

In addition to the United States tornadoes, a powerful tornado struck portions of North-Central Bangladesh in April, killing 111 and injuring nearly 1,500 others.[12] Seven people were killed and 207 injured by a tornado that appeared on the evening of April 21 in Hengyang, Hunan, China.[13][14]

Satellite image of Cyclone Gafilo, one of the strongest and deadliest cyclones to strike Madagascar

As the year began, Cyclone Heta was developing near Fiji,[15] and Tropical Storm Darius was approaching Mauritius in the south-west Indian Ocean.[16] Throughout 2004, a further 18 tropical cyclones developed in the south-west Indian Ocean,[17][18] which included Cyclone Gafilo, the most intense tropical cyclone on record in that part of the world.[19] In March, Gafilo struck Madagascar near peak intensity, killing 363 people.[17][20] A month prior to Gafilo, Cyclone Elita moved across the same country for the third time, dropping heavy rainfall that led to 33 deaths.[17] In the Australian region, there were 14 tropical cyclones throughout the year, including Tropical Cyclone Raymond which lasted into early January 2005.[18][21] The South Pacific Ocean had 15 tropical cyclones after Heta, most of them weak.[22][23]

In addition to the previous tropical cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere, there was an unusual South Atlantic tropical cyclone named Cyclone Catarina, which became the first-ever recorded hurricane off the coast of Brazil. The body of water was previously thought to be hostile to the formation of tropical cyclones. Catarina caused about US$425 million in damage and 12 fatalities.[24][25]

In the Northern Hemisphere, a record ten typhoons struck Japan, part of the active typhoon season, collectively causing 214 fatalities. Among the typhoons was Typhoon Songda, which left an estimated US$12.5 billion in damage.[26] There was a series of tropical cyclones affecting the Philippines in a two-week period from November to early December, resulting in 1,762 deaths.[27] In the north-east Pacific Ocean, there were 17 tropical cyclones, most of which remained away from land.[28][29] In the North Indian Ocean, there were nine tropical cyclones, with the practice of naming storms beginning in October. The season included a deadly cyclone in Myanmar that killed 236 people, and a depression that killed 273 people in India.[30][31]

In the north Atlantic Ocean, there were 16 tropical cyclones, most of which affected land in the Caribbean or the United States.[32] Four hurricanes – Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne – affected Florida in a six-week period, the most to affect the state in a year.[33] Charley left US$16.9 billion in damage when it hit Cuba and Florida.[34][35] Damage from Frances was estimated at US$9.8 billion.[34] Ivan was the season's strongest, killing 92 people and causing US$26.1 billion in damage in the Caribbean and the United States.[36] Jeanne struck Hispaniola, causing 3,029 deaths on the island, mostly in Haiti, and later caused US$7.5 billion in damage in the United States.[35]