Latest Windstorm Headlines
All the headlines from our Windstorm Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A Year after Joplin Tornadoes, $2.16B in Insurance Claims Paid
May 18 2012 // The tornado that swept through Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011, has generated $2.16 billion in insurance claims payouts to Missouri policyholders, according to an Insurance Information Institute analysis of data from...
Crop Damage in Central California From Storm Tops $79M
May 18 2012 // San Joaquin Valley’s crop damage estimate from a hail storm last month has reached more than $79 million. The Fresno Bee reports that Kings County, among the hardest hit areas of the region, recently increased its...
Hurricane Andrew Remembered at Storm Conference
May 17 2012 // Florida’s emergency managers are preparing for the upcoming tropical storm season by reexamining the lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew. This August will mark the 20th anniversary of Andrew’s catastrophic...
PERILS Q1 Report on European Windstorms Shows ‘Very Active Season’
May 17 2012 // PERILS, the Swiss-based insurance data provider, reports that “in contrast to an unusually quiet European windstorm season in 2010/11, the 2011/12 season was very active.” PERILS said it had “investigated...
Demand High in Joplin Region for Storm Shelters
May 16 2012 // Carter Henson uses an overhead crane to position a bucket containing one yard of cement over a metal form that, when removed, will create a new safe room. With the release of a lever, the cement pours from the bucket and...
Texas Windstorm Alternative Eligibility Program Deadline: Aug. 31
May 15 2012 // The Texas Department of Insurance is currently developing a process for obtaining an Alternative Certification for obtaining windstorm insurance in coastal areas. Under the Alternative Eligibility Program, residential...
Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits: Panel
May 14 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel last Thursday concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover...
Major League Baseball to Help Tornado Victims
May 11 2012 // Major League Baseball and a charitable foundation run by players announced they are working with Habitat for Humanity to build nine homes for the tornado-ravaged communities of Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., with more...
Hail Storm Depletes St. Louis, Missouri Rental Fleet
May 7 2012 // A recent hail storm damaged thousands of vehicles in the St. Louis area, but good luck trying to find a rental. That’s because car rental companies are scrambling to fix or replace their own fleets. Hail as big as...
Conn. Senate OKs Bill on Utilities’ Storm Response
May 7 2012 // The state Senate on Saturday, May 5, approved a wide-ranging bill that attempts to address many of the problems that developed last year when Connecticut was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Irene in August and again by an...
Tornado Cost Wichita, Kansas Area $146.3M
May 7 2012 // Sedgwick County, Kansas, officials say the tornado that hit Oaklawn and southeast Wichita on April 14 caused an estimated $146.3 million in damage. County officials say the tornado damaged or destroyed 776 homes and 86...
Irene Retired From Storm Name List
May 7 2012 // Irene is being retired from the list of storm names because the 2011 hurricane killed 49 people and caused more than $15 billion in damage. A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the name...
Oklahoma Seeks Assistance Following Deadly April Storms
May 7 2012 // Oklahoma’s request for federal assistance to individuals and businesses affected by an April 15 tornado that killed six in Woodward was denied but the governor is continuing with her quest for help from the U.S....
Fewer Storms for 2012 Hurricane Season?
May 7 2012 // The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is projected to be less active than in recent years with 11 tropical storms, six of which will intensify into hurricanes, according to Andover, Md.-based private forecaster Weather...
Meteorologist: Tornado Near Stockton, Calif., not Unusual
May 7 2012 // The National Weather Service says the tornado that struck five miles outside of Stockton, Calif., last month was not unusual for the time of year. The twister on farmland near Interstate 5 left a path of damage about a...
Aon Benfield’s April Global Cat Reports near $1 Billion in Tornado Losses
May 4 2012 // Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, has released its latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide...
$20M-Plus Crop Damage When Storm Shreds Central California Orchards
May 3 2012 // A fierce spring storm that shredded Central California orchards last month caused more than $20 million damage in Kings County. Other San Joaquin Valley counties are still tallying the damage to crops when quarter-sized...
More Families Building Their Own Tornado Shelters
May 2 2012 // When deadly twisters chewed through the South and Midwest in 2011, thousands of people in the killers’ paths had nowhere to hide. Now many of those families are taking an unusual extra step to be ready next time:...
New England Officials Testify at Storm Hearing
May 1 2012 // Spurred by major storms that had left millions of New Englanders without power last year, a Senate committee is questioning what can be done at the federal level to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters. New...
Indiana Emergency Officials to Storm Chasers: Stay Home
Apr 27 2012 // The recent outbreak of severe weather in Kansas had storm chasers out in full force. So many of them, in fact, that emergency officials everywhere are taking notice, and putting out warnings. In Indiana, Delaware County...
