Latest Windstorm Headlines

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

Major Storm Dumped Snow, Closed Mountain Routes in California

Dec 28 2021 // A major Christmas weekend storm caused whiteout conditions and closed key highways amid blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada, with forecasters warning that travel in the Sierra Nevada could be...

Federal Relief Funding Available in Five Arkansas Counties Following Tornadoes

Dec 27 2021 // President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Arkansas, making federal relief funding available in five north eastern counties hit by tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest and South this month.The declaration...

Did Builder Groups Block Insurance Industry Move to Require More Storm Shelters?

Dec 27 2021 // A 2012 insurance industry proposal to make tornado shelters part of the building code for large commercial and residential buildings was blocked by construction and building management interests, the New York Times...

As Strongest Storm to Hit Philippines in 2021, Typhoon Rai ‘Exceeded All Predictions’

Dec 22 2021 // SINGAPORE – The rapid intensification that turned this week’s Typhoon Rai into the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year surpassed all predictions, forecasters said, leaving nearly 400 people dead and...

Dec. 15 Winter Storms Across Upper Midwest Classified as Derecho

Dec 22 2021 // A line of severe thunderstorms andtornadoesthat swept across the north-central U.S. last week was the result of a serial derecho _ the first on record in December, officials with the National Weather Service said Dec....

Tornadoes Have Pushed Insurers’ Weather Claims Above $105B for 2021

Dec 21 2021 // Devastation from tornadoes that slammed parts of the United States this month will push the insurance industry’s 2021 bill for weather-related claims well above the predicted $105 billion, industry experts said, and...

‘Keep Delivering’: Amazon Tornado Tragedy Raises Emergency Safety Training Questions

Dec 17 2021 // The messages between an Amazon.com Inc. delivery driver and her boss began about 80 minutes before a tornado struck one of the company’s warehouses in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Dec. 10, killing six workers. The...

Missouri Insurance Specialists to Offer Assistance Following Tornado

Dec 16 2021 // Customer insurance specialists from the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance will participate in resource centers to assist customers who were affected by the recent tornado.A Multi-Agency Resource Centers will be...

More Tornadoes in Midwest, Great Plains Leave One Dead and 500,000 in the Dark

Dec 16 2021 // Dec 16, 2021 — A powerful storm that spawned tornadoes across the Midwest and Great Plains killed at least one person, ripped trees from the ground and knocked out power to more than 500,000 homes and businesses.Winds...

New Research Warns Rare Winter Tornadoes May Get More Intense

Dec 16 2021 // Nasty winter tornadoes — like the deadly ones last week that hit five states — are likely to be stronger and stay on the ground longer with a wider swath of destruction in a warming world, a new study shows.The...

Tornadoes Destroyed Kentucky Insurance Agency, Damaged Others as Claims Pour In

Dec 16 2021 // A number of insurance agencies in southwestern Kentucky sustained damage at their own offices during the massive tornado rampage last weekend, including one insurance firm that lost its entire building in hard-hit...

Insurers Begin Work in Areas Hard-Hit By Weekend Tornadoes

Dec 15 2021 // Insurance claims and loss estimates are beginning to come in from the group of deadly and damaging tornadoes that moved through the central and southern U.S. last weekend.The Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed...

Planning Questions Emerge at Tornado-Destroyed Kentucky Candle Plant

Dec 14 2021 // The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S.But why its...

AM Best Sees Tornado Losses as Manageable for Insurers

Dec 14 2021 // Analysts at ratings firm AM Best said they expect the insured losses from the tornadoes that devastated central and southern U.S. last weekend will dampen underwriting results for insurers but that insurers will be able to...

Insured Loss From Tornado Outbreak Estimated at $3 Billion by KCC

Dec 14 2021 // The insured loss from the December 9-12 tornado outbreak that devastated parts of central U.S. has been estimated to be about $3 billion.Catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company said its estimate includes damage...

Why OSHA Is Investigating Amazon Worker Deaths at Illinois Building Hit by Tornado

Dec 14 2021 // EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The U.S. workplace safety watchdog is investigating the circumstances around the collapse during Friday night’s storm of an Amazon.com Inc building in Illinois in which six workers died, an...

Tornadoes That Ripped Across Central U.S. Could Be Costliest Outbreak on Record

Dec 13 2021 // A group of tornadoes that tore across the central U.S. on December 10 and 11 resulted in widespread damage in several states and could serve as the nation’s costliest tornado outbreak on record.“Based on...

Insurance Losses for October Storms in Southern Australia Estimated at A$1.03B

Dec 13 2021 // The initial industry loss estimates for Southern Australia’s severe storms, which occurred during the period of Oct. 28-30, 2021, are A$1.03 billion (US$739 million), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based...

Tornados Leave 2 Dead in Arkansas; Governor Says State Avoided Worst of Storm

Dec 13 2021 // Two people were killed in northeastern Arkansas as tornadoes struck several states in the region, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Saturday, Dec. 11 in Monette. One person at Monette Manor nursing home in Monette and one person...

Crews Continue Searching for Missing After Tornadoes Ravage Communities

Dec 13 2021 // Rescuers combed through fields of wreckage after a tornado outbreak roared across the middle of the U.S., leaving dozens dead and communities in despair.A twister carved a track that could rival the longest on record as...