Latest Windstorm Headlines

All the headlines from our Windstorm Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Tropical Storm Dolly Enters Gulf, Texas May Be Target

Jul 21 2008 // The National Hurricane Center reported at 11 a.m. EDT on July 21 that Tropical Storm Dolly had crossed Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and entered the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane watch was issued for the Texas coast from...

Okla. City to Add Telephones as Tools for Tornado Warnings

Jul 18 2008 // In addition to blaring sirens and screeching weather-radio alerts, residents in Glenpool, Okla., will now have another way of learning about approaching tornadoes: they will get a telephone call. The City Council has...

Preliminary Estimates of Tornado Damage in North Dakota Top $1 Million

Jul 18 2008 // A preliminary estimate of damage from the tornado that struck Rolla, Norht Dakota last week now tops $1 million. Rolette County Tax Director Diane Schwandt expects that estimate to grow. Schwandt says property owners are...

Michigan Storms in June Killed 8 People, Blacked Out 730,000 Homes

Jul 16 2008 // President Bush has declared a major disaster area in Michigan, making recovery aid available in areas hit by severe storms and flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says Monday’s declaration covers eleven...

Iowa Attorney General Warns About Scams After Tornadoes and Floods

Jul 16 2008 // Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Attorney General Tom Miller recently reminded Iowans to beware of a variety of scams in the wake of the tornadoes and floods over the last several weeks. “It’s the definition of adding...

Nebraska Official Say Storm Left Nearly $13 Million in Damage

Jul 10 2008 // New estimates say a fierce storm late last month that brought wind gusts higher than 115 mph to the Omaha, Nebraska area left nearly $13 million in damage in its wake. The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency says the June...

Research Model Helps Gauge Storms’ Intensity with Climate Change

Jul 9 2008 // A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth’s surface. The new...

Colo., Texas Lead the Top 10 Most Tornado Prone Areas

Jul 9 2008 // The rural area to the northeast of Denver, Colo., tops the nation when it comes to regions most prone to tornados, according to Boston-based CDS Business Mapping LLC, an online hazard mapping firm. The top 10 most tornado...

Minn. Experts: Garage Doors Can be Weak Point in Tornado Damage

Jul 8 2008 // When high winds from tornados and severe storms hit, a house’s garage door can be a weak point. And sometimes if a garage door goes, it can be the first step in a disastrous chain reaction. Minnesota has recently...

Insurance Services Office: Iowa’s Storm Damage Reaches $235 Million

Jun 25 2008 // The Insurance Services Office (ISO) recently released estimated damages for Iowa since it was hit in May by devasting tornadoes and widespread flooding. ISO estimates that tornadoes and floods that have struck Iowa since...

Louisiana Named Storm Deductible Bill Sent to Governor

Jun 24 2008 // Insurance companies providing coverage in Louisiana should be allowed to adjust their “named storm” deductibles on homeowner policies depending on properties’ distance from the Gulf of Mexico, according...

Mississippi Plans Storm Evacuation Drill on Interstate 59

Jun 24 2008 // The Mississippi Department of Transportation plans to conduct a hurricane evacuation drill on Interstate 59 in south Mississippi on July 1. The contraflow or lane reversal drill is part of MDOT’s hurricane...

Port of New Orleans Braces for Storm Season with Satellite Office

Jun 23 2008 // The Port of New Orleans has set up a “satellite” office and taken steps in case another storm strikes the southern Louisiana coast during the 2008 hurricane season, an official said Friday. “We’ve...

Wisconsin Initial Storm Estimate Reaches $470 Million

Jun 23 2008 // The storms that produced widespread flooding across the state this month caused almost half a billion dollars in damage. The Wisconsin Emergency Management department says preliminary figures add up to more than $470...

Reinsurers Wary of Low Returns, Reserving Trends, Storms to Come

Jun 23 2008 // Two consecutive years of record earnings in the property and casualty insurance industry driven by lower catastrophe losses and healthy investment returns, along with unforeseen risks brought on by the subprime mortgage...

Iowa Scout Camp Hit by Tornado Closes, Insurance Adjusters Tour Site

Jun 19 2008 // Officials with the Boy Scouts of America say the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa will be closed for the summer following a deadly tornado that hit it on June 11. Four Boy Scouts were killed and nearly 50 others...

Harris County Leads Texas in Number of Tornadoes

Jun 19 2008 // Harris County has had almost twice as many tornadoes reported than any other county in the state according to a recent survey conducted by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). Despite its location south of what is...

New Insurance Law Riling Residents of Storm Damaged Okla. Town

Jun 18 2008 // Five weeks after many of them lost their homes to a powerful tornado, Picher, Okla., residents are expressing frustration about a new state insurance law that is affecting the buyout process for residents of the polluted...

Death Toll Stands at 10 in Aftermath of Midwest Tornadoes, Flooding

Jun 16 2008 // The death toll now stands at 10 in the Midwest as tornadoes, severe thunder storms and flooding hit Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin beginning June 6. States battled tornadoes that touched down in multiple areas, heavy...

Louisiana House OKs Bill on Regional Storm Deductibles

Jun 12 2008 // Insurance companies should be allowed to adjust their so-called “named storm” deductibles on homeowner policies, depending on properties’ distance from the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico, according to a...