2011: The Year of Natural Disasters

Freak weather in 2011

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Us chicago blizzard 2011 11 10

Cars sit in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive after accidents and drifting snow stranded the drivers during a blizzard February 2, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Massive blizzards bombarded the Midwest and Northeast during the winter of 2011.
- [Scott Olson/Getty Images]
Us tornadoes joplin 2011 11 10

Destroyed homes are seen after a massive tornado passed through the town killing at least 126 people on May 26, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri. The town continues the process of recovering from the storm which damaged or destroyed an estimated 8,000 structures.
- [Mario Tama/Getty Images]
Us mississippi river flooding1 2011 11 10

A church and homes are seen in the Mississippi River floodwaters on May 23, 2011 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Heavy rains left the ground saturated, rivers swollen, and caused widespread flooding in Louisiana. Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
- [Mario Tama/Getty Images]
Us tornadoes massachusetts 2011 11 10

Cars are covered in debris near Main Street June 2, 2011 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Tornadoes tore through the central and western parts of the state, seriously damaging 18 communities and killing at least 4 people.
- [Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images]
Us hurricane irene2 2011 11 10

A street remains flooded on August 31, 2011 in Wallington, New Jersey. People from throughout the East Coast were devastated by the effects of Hurricane Irene. New Jersey was especially hard hit by Hurricane Irene with thousands of residents forced into shelters due to flooded homes and many more still without electricity as rivers and creeks overflowed in the aftermath of the storm.
- [Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
Us washington earthquake 2011 11 10

An engineer of a Difficult Access Team with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates sounds with a hammer for lose stones from the Washington Monument October 3, 2011 in Washington, DC. The DAT team continued the inspection of the monument to find whether there were more damages caused by the 5.8-magnitude earthquake on August 23, 2011.
- [Alex Wong/Getty Images]
Us texas wildfire2 2011 11 10

Firefighting helicopters load up with water from a pond at Lost Pines Golf Club as they fight a fire in Bastrop State Park September 6, 2011 in Bastrop, Texas. Several large wildfires and record high temperatures devastated Bastrop County.
- [Erich Schlegel/Getty Images]
Us october snowstorm1 2011 11 10

Snow and branches that were blown off the tree in the front yard of Chris Trembay on October 30, 2009 in Nashua, New Hampshire. An early October winter storm hit the Northeast on the evening of October 29, 2011, causing damage to trees, power lines, and leaving people without power for days. Some cities and towns were also forced to cancel Halloween festivities.
- [Kayana Szymczak/Getty Images]

Although the US was relatively spared during 2010's epic surge of natural disasters, it has been plagued by record temperatures, storms and even a couple of earthquakes in unlikely places. The year started off with snowstorms across the Midwest and Northeast and transitioned into a spring and summer filled with natural catastrophies and record heat. Not wanting to be left behind, the fall has also had it share of the fun with a Halloween snowstorm in the Northeast and a hurricane-like snowstorm of "epic proportions" hitting the western coast of Alaska.