Flooding Might Not Draw Attention Like Tornadoes, But It's One Of The Deadliest Weather Types

More than 1,700 reports of flooding, severe weather and snow made headlines this past weekend, but the death toll continues to climb in one of these categories – flood deaths.

We often associate deadly weather events with tornadoes during the winter and spring months. This is often a poor relationship to be made.

Throughout the year, the number 1 killer is heat.

After that, and more than twice as deadly as tornadoes is flooding over the last decade (2014-2023). Note that this does not include 2024’s Hurricane Helene, which caused scores of flooding-related deaths in the southern Appalachians.

While Texas takes the top spot for the state with the most flood deaths, North Carolina isn’t far behind in part due to Helene. There is a cluster of elevated Appalachian and river-related deaths in the Tennessee Valley. These deaths come from both hurricanes and from springtime flood events like we saw with Winter Storm Jett.

(​MORE: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

To dive a little deeper into these deaths, here’s how people died when flooding was involved across the US.

Still, by a large margin, driving into floodwaters remains the number 1 killer of people killed by water.

We at weather.com all too often see video of cars driving into torrents of water to get down the road in front of them. More often than not, these people get stuck. As you can tell by the numbers, more than 650 people since 2015, many of them do not make it.

It only takes 6 inches of fast-moving water to sweep you off your feet, and if you're in a vehicle, it only takes 2 feet of water to float that vehicle.

Here’s what you should (and should not) do during a flood.

Some other flood-related tips:

• Find the driest, most interior room in the structure you’re in if you must face a tornado and flooding at the same time.

• Your vehicle is the most dangerous spot to be during a flood.

• The prime time for flooding in the US is late spring.

• Mesoscale Convective Systems are clusters of thunderstorms that can create flooding and damaging winds.

• Mudslides become much more likely after days of heavy rain or wildfires.