A powerful storm system hit the Midwest on Nov. 17, trailinglightning, hail, high winds and heavy rain the next morning. TheStorm Prediction Center (SPC) registered more than 60 tornadotouchdowns in several states, along with straight-line winds asfast as 85 miles per hour and baseball-sized hail. At least eightpeople perished, and some communities were “flattened out,”according to onlookers.

Aon Benfield says Nov. 17 provided “highly conducive”atmospheric conditions for explosive thunderstorm development.Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky bore the brunt of the storm'sdamage, which the SPC says at its peak threatened more than 53million people in ten states.

“This is very unusual for this time of year,” Jeff Ormond,Allstate spokesperson for the insurer's regional office overseeingOhio, Michigan and Indiana, told PC360. “Usually the region wouldsee like weather in the warmer months of May through September. Wedid have tornados in Henryville, Indiana and Dexter, Michigan inMarch 2012, which was very unusual at that time too.”

Illinois saw the worst devastation, says Aon. National WeatherService (NWS) meteorologists recorded an EF-4 twister thatcompletely wiped a farmhouse off its foundation, killing an elderlyman and his sister. An EF-2 tornado tracked across Grundy and Willcounties, and a deadly tornado in the Peoria region destroyed homesand an apartment complex.

Thunderstorms, hail and thousands of power outages in theChicago area grounded flights at O'Hare and midway internationalairports and delayed an NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens andChicago Bears at Soldier Field.

At least 12 counties in Indiana reported tornado damage, withstates of emergency declared in Howard County, home to the towns ofKokomo, Russiaville and Greentown. Severe damage was also reportedin Lafayette, Washington and Lebanon cities. One tornado inLogansport caused gas leaks that prompted several complexes to beevacuated.

Eight Kentucky counties reported tornado touchdowns. The GreatLakes were also affected, primarily by winds that left 253,000customers without electricity in Michigan. Similar winds as fast as70 mph were recorded in Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

While it is too early to tell the full scope of the losses,Loretta Worters, spokesperson for the Insurance InformationInstitute, expects that “hundreds of homes and businesses weredamaged or destroyed.”

“Claims adjusters have already begun to help policyholders fileclaims,” says Jim Whittle, chief claims counsel for the AmericanInsurance Association. “AIA's member companies have beguncommunicating with policyholders through a variety of channels,including Facebook and Twitter.”

Until Sunday, economic and insured losses from severe weather in2013—the quietest U.S. tornado year since 1988—were slightly belowthe 10-year average, records the Storm Prediction Center. U.S.thunderstorms cost $14.9 billion insured losses in 2012, reportsMunich Re. The United States experiences more tornadoes than anyother country worldwide.