2024 Is The Year Of The Cicada: Will They Emerge In New York State?

The first time I heard the noise emanating from these creatures, I was visiting a friend in the Annapolis, Maryland area. I had never heard such a noise like that before.

Those creatures were Cicadas. I believe they were from the 13-year Cicada brood, rather than the 17-year brood. Noise-wise, I imagine it would be the same level of loud.

According to the University of Connecticut, "Cicada 13-year brood emerges in the same year as a 17-year brood roughly every 5-6 years, though most of the 17-year broods are not in contact with a 13-year brood."

But this year, (2024) the University of Connecticut notes that the 13-year brood and 17-year brood will emerge in the same year since 2015, the first time that adjacent 13 and 17-year broods are emerging since 1998 and that Brood XIX and XIII will co-emerge for the first time since 1803. That was a long time ago!

Will New York State or Pennsylvania see the emergence of these Cicadas in 2024? The answer is No. But, according to the Cicada Mania website, in the spring of 2025, the Ciacada Brood XIV will emerge in areas of New York State and Pennsylvania, among other northeastern U.S. states. The last time our area experienced this brood was in 2008.

If you want to hear the singing of the Cicada this year, you must travel to other states. According to Time.com, the 2024 Cicada Brood XIII will emerge in Iowa, Wisconsin, and possibly Michigan. The Cicada Brood XIX will be present in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

In addition, areas of Illinois and Indiana could see both breeds. And just how many of these two breeds will emerge in 2024? Here is what the University of Connecticut study has to say:

The state of Delaware is roughly 1.5 million acres in size. If we accept an estimate of a million cicadas per acre and if the total combined area of a periodical cicada emergence is roughly the size of Delaware, then more than a trillion cicadas will be involved. For 2024, since cicadas will emerge from Maryland to Oklahoma, Illinois to Alabama, clearly, trillions of adult cicadas will be present– but not all in the same place at the same time.

If you are wondering when the next time these breeds will co-emerge again in the same year, the answer is 221 years from now, so don't hold your breath...or should it be said, don't cover your ears.