Latest Windstorm Headlines
All the headlines from our Windstorm Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Websites Reunite Tornado Victims with Lost Belongings
Mar 20 2012 // There were a yellow football jersey, wrinkled prom photos, canceled checks and a birth certificate. There were wedding photos and pages from a scrapbook that elementary students made for their teacher. When the deadly...
Tropical Cyclone Lua Hits Northwest Coast of Australia as Cat 4 Storm
Mar 19 2012 // Following earlier predictions, tropical cyclone Lua came ashore on Australia’s northwest coast, the “Pilbara” coast, as a strong category 4 storm; i.e. wind speeds from 130 to 156 mph – 209 to 251 km/h....
7-Day Advance Storm Forecasts Not Far Away
Mar 19 2012 // National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said that science will improve to the point where forecasters can reliably issue forecasts showing where a hurricane will be a week ahead of time. “We’re two to five...
Tornado Response
Mar 19 2012 // Branson, Mo., city officials said they were mostly happy with the emergency response to a tornado that hit the tourist city on Feb. 29. Police Chief Kent Crutcher said emergency response was mostly positive in the hours...
Insurance Claims from Recent Tornadoes May Top $1B
Mar 19 2012 // March came in like a very large and powerful lion, spawning severe weather across the Midwest, South and southeastern United States. Insured losses from the tornadoes, hail and high winds that struck in late February and...
Indiana Tornado Mobile Home Deaths
Mar 19 2012 // A family of five in New Pekin, two men in Holton and a Scott County man all were in mobile homes when they died or were fatally injured in southern Indiana tornadoes on March 2. The Courier Journal reported that nearly...
Kentucky Orders Halt to Insurance Cancellations in Tornado-Stricken Areas
Mar 16 2012 // Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an executive order prohibiting insurance companies from canceling policies or changing rates in counties hit by deadly tornadoes. Beshear’s staffers said it was the first time...
Illinois to Recalculate Storm Damage Cost for FEMA
Mar 16 2012 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given Illinois more time to recalculate the tornado damage to southern parts of the state to bolster its push to reverse the denial of aid, Sen. Dick Durbin said. FEMA...
Pilot Project in Kansas, Missouri, Seeks Better Storm Warnings
Mar 15 2012 // When weather radios start sounding warnings in the Wichita, Kan., area this spring, the computerized voice nicknamed Chance Storms won’t just alert listeners to severe thunderstorms or tornado warnings. He’ll...
PERILS Lowers Loss Estimates from Windstorm Joachim to $377 Million
Mar 15 2012 // PERILS, Europe’s catastrophe data provider, has updated its loss report for windstorm Joachim, which occurred from December 15 to 17, 2011 in Western Europe. The second published loss estimate for Joachim is €289...
Catastrophe Frequency, Tornadoes Test Insurers in U.S.: A.M. Best
Mar 15 2012 // According to A.M. Best Co., the frequency of catastrophe weather events represents the “new normal” for the insurance industry. “The insurance industry continues to be tested as catastrophic weather...
Illinois Officials Dispute FEMA Denial of Tornado Aid
Mar 14 2012 // Looking at the destruction in his southern Illinois town, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg couldn’t understand why federal officials turned down a plea to financially help local homeowners. Nearly a hundred homes are now...
Branson Officials Mostly Pleased with Tornado Response
Mar 12 2012 // Branson, Mo., city officials said they were mostly happy with the emergency response to a tornado that hit the tourist city in February. City officials met on March 8 to assess the response and tally damage. Police Chief...
Indiana Storm Victims Get More Time to Pay for Insurance
Mar 8 2012 // The Indiana Department of Insurance is telling insurers to give victims of recent southern Indiana tornadoes an extra two months to pay their premiums. Insurance Commissioner Stephen Robertson announced a 60-day moratorium...
$1M Available For Pacific Islands Coastal Storm Preparedness
Mar 8 2012 // More than $1 million in coastal hazard research grant money is available to communities throughout the Pacific Islands region to help plan for, respond to and recover from coastal storms. The funding will be distributed by...
Georgia Preliminary Storm Damage Estimate at $40M
Mar 7 2012 // Georgia’s state insurance commissioner said the estimate to repair damage from Friday’s storms has hit $40 million in insured losses. Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said in a statement Tuesday the figure is...
Louisiana High Court Says Storm Death Files Can Be Kept Secret
Mar 7 2012 // The Louisiana Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by two news organizations to examine the files of a state investigation into allegations that doctors at a New Orleans hospital euthanized patients in the aftermath of...
7-Day Advance Hurricane Forecasts Not Far Away, Says Storm Center Chief
Mar 7 2012 // National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said that science will improve to the point where forecasters can reliably issue forecasts showing where a hurricane will be a week ahead of time. “We’re two to five...
NWS: Warning System No Match for Fast-Forming Tornado
Mar 6 2012 // Meterologists in the Topeka, Kan., bureau of the National Weather Service say the tornado that hit Harveyville on Feb. 28 formed too quickly to have time to issue a warning. The EF2 tornado killed one person, injured 11...
FEMA Begins Survey of Illinois Tornado Damage
Mar 6 2012 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency on March 5 began surveying the damage from tornadoes and other severe weather that roiled southern Illinois last week, starting in the small town of Harrisburg, where six people were...
