US Tornado Count Hits 439 This Year
Over the last three days, tornado activity in the US has been higher than any one day since 1968. The National Weather Service reported 55 tornadoes, and 33 were confirmed.
Three storms were No.3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale), which means they had winds between 136 and 165 MPH. At least one tornado was reported daily from March 28 to April 3.
NOAA Data
According to NOAA, the tornado season this year has been highly active. There have been 439. Most of these have been in tornado alley, which extends from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota, Montana, Ohio, and eastern portions of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. However, there has also been activity from Pennsylvania to upstate New York and around Los Angeles.
Tornadoes have always created an insurance problem. However, as the storms have become more ferocious and widespread, residential insurance has soared in places where costs have been modest in the past.
Rising Insurance Costs
Risk & Insurance recently reported, “The most damaging storms, including tornadoes, are most prevalent in the U.S. Given their often sudden and fast-moving nature, they can be extremely hazardous and cause widespread and severe devastation, particularly in highly populated areas where such events have never happened before.”
The overall risk profile in these areas creates surges in insurance prices similar to those in Florida (hurricanes) and California (wildfires). As is the case in those areas, people may not be able to afford rates and have to go with insurance. Alternatively, some insurance companies have abandoned these areas completely.
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