If you scan the song/album list of the late, great Texas blues guitar powerhouse, Stevie Ray Vaughan, you’ll get an inkling of what the major stories from Insurance Journal’s South Central region in 2015 were about: the weather and its aftereffects.
Titles from Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band, Double Trouble, such as Texas Flood, Couldn’t Stand the Weather, The Sky Is Crying, The Fire Meets the Fury, Strike Like Lighting, Crossfire pretty much sum it up. (Missing from these titles but not from the 2015 weather experience across the South Central region: tornadoes, hail and blizzards.)
The articles listed below are but a sampling of stories that collectively dominated IJ’s South Central news during the year.
- Texas Pounded by Weather Extremes in May
- Attorney: Hail Claims ‘Cottage Industry’ Bad News for Texas
- Jury Verdict Favors Texas Insurer in Hidalgo County Hail Claim Case
- Attorneys, Insurers Facing Off over Hail Litigation in Texas
- Damage Assessments Begin as Texas Flooding Recedes
- Government Emergency Response Tested by Texas Storms
- Texas Tornadoes, Midwest Flooding Leave at Least 24 Dead
- Weather-Related Property Claims Mount in Texas
- Insured Loss Estimate from Texas Tornadoes at $1.2B, So Far
- Van, Texas, Tornado Blamed for $40M in Damage
- Texas Goes From Drought to Flood to Drought in 60 Days
- Central Texas Wildfire 100% Contained
While Texas’ weather troubles grabbed a fair share of headlines, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma were by no means left out. For instance, consider these:
- Buildings Damaged by Storms in Louisiana; No Injuries Reported
- Disasters Declared in Arkansas, Texas Following Severe Weather
- Arkansas, Oklahoma, Warned of Hail, High Wind-Packing Storms
- Flood Damage in Arkansas County Exceeds $14M: Report
- 5 Dead After Twisters Hit Texas, Arkansas
- Official: 2015 Is Oklahoma’s Wettest Year
- State of Emergency Extended in Oklahoma
- Oklahoma Grass Fires Burn Houses, Barns
- Price Tag from Spring Severe Weather Adding Up in Oklahoma
- Storms Sweep Through Oklahoma with Tornadoes, Hail
- Oklahoma Severe Weather Death Toll Rises to 6
- Louisiana, Oklahoma Face Deadlines for Flood Insurance Claims
- Residents Evacuate as Wildfire Burns in Northwestern Louisiana
- Louisiana Farmers, Ranchers Face ‘Total Loss’ from Flooding
- Red River Floods Louisiana Neighborhoods, Parks and Roads
- Rail Cars Blown Off Louisiana Bridge During Severe Storms
With the wild weather that closed out 2015, dare we hope for a less volatile 2016? Unfortunately, history tells us that’s not likely to be the case. So it just may be that the forces of nature will dominate the headlines for the coming year.
Still, if you can’t stand the weather, you can always lose the blues and rock on with Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Happy New Year!
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