This map explains the weather we had in 2016

Weather over the past year was extreme. It ranged from a historic blizzard to record-breaking heat. At times, it was deadly. This map explains nearly all of it: rain and drought — the yin and yang of U.S. weather in 2016.

Even with a very strong El Niño, the vast majority of the West ended the year with below-average precipitation. In the Deep South, flash flooding threatened lives and property over and over. In the Southeast, an epic drought fueled deadly wildfires.

Flooding

2016 may come to be known as the “year of the flood.” From spring to fall, Mother Nature unleashed multiple historic rainfall events from the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic.

After devastating rains the previous year, Houston was again hit by extreme flooding in April 2016. The National Weather Service at one point called it “the worst case scenario.”

Nearly 20 inches of rain fell in the Houston area over the course of 48 hours. At least eight people died in the flood, which locals say was the worst since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Entire roads washed away, more than 1,000 homes and businesses were damaged, and emergency officials heroically performed nearly 2,000 high-water rescues.

Between Aug. 10 and 17, nearly 30 inches of rain fell in parts of Louisiana. Some of the worst flooding occurred around Lafayette and Baton Rouge. The $10 billion disaster claimed at least 13 lives and destroyed more than 50,000 homes, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The rain resulted from a slow-moving area of tropical low pressure that drew record-setting amounts of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico over Louisiana. It produced three times as much rain as Hurricane Katrina, and was the worst flood disaster in the U.S. since Superstorm Sandy.

In June, 23 people were killed by flash flooding in West Virginia after 10 inches of rain fell over the course of 12 hours. Rivers crested at all-time highs as water surged down the mountainous drainage basins. Greenbrier County was devastated by the flooding, and County Sheriff Jan Cahill described the scene as “complete chaos.”

To end the year of flooding, Hurricane Matthew swept up the Southeast Coast and poured 18 inches of rain on parts of North and South Carolina in early October. Rivers crested at levels not seen since Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and nearly 30 people died as a result of the multi-day floods.

In Robeson County, N.C., children did not return to school until Oct. 31 — more than 20 days after Hurricane Matthew struck the region.

Drought and wildfires

 Where it wasn’t raining, drought was festering.

California continued its extreme drought for the fifth year. Hopes for drenching El Niño rains never came to fruition, and record autumn heat parched the ground even more. In addition to furthering the Golden State’s water crisis, it fueled nearly 7,000 wildfires which charred over 550,000 acres.

The Soberanes Fire in Monterey County, Calif., cost over $200 million to fight and was the costliest on record, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Ignited by an illegal campfire, the blaze would go on to burn 132,000 acres until it was contained in October.

Two men were killed while fighting the fire, KQED reported. It also reportedly killed the largest-known Pacific madrone tree in the United States.

With drought growing in the Southeast, wildfires were sparked from Alabama to North Carolina, many of which are suspected to be the result of arson. The most significant was the wildfire that swept into Gatlinburg, Tenn., in the dark of night. Without warning, residents were forced to flee their homes amid smoke and flames. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports 14 people were killed as a result of the fire and 191 were treated for fire-related injuries and smoke inhalation.

Approximately 2,500 structures were damaged or destroyed in the Tennessee fire, according to the Sentinel, which cost $8.8 million to fight.