The destructive storm system that pummeled the Midwest on Nov. 17 with lightning, hail, high winds and heavy rain may carry a price tag of up to $1 billion, according to Risk Management Solutions. Additionally, the storm could rank as the most expensive of the top five catastrophes of its kind to have occurred in November since 1950.

State Farm spokeswoman Holly Anderson said the insurer had received 1,800 homeowners claims in Illinois, 1,200 in Idaho and 600 in Michigan in the three days following the disaster. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) registered 67 tornado touchdowns in several states, as well as straight-line winds of more than 85 mph and baseball-sized hail. Six people were killed, including at least five in Illinois.

“This is very unusual for this time of year,” Jeff Ormond, Allstate spokesperson for the insurer's regional office overseeing Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, tells NU. “Usually the region would see [such] weather in the warmer months of May through September. We did have tornadoes in Henryville, Ind. and Dexter, Mich. in March 2012, which was very unusual at that time, too.”

According to Aon Benfield, Nov. 17 provided “highly conducive” atmospheric conditions for explosive thunderstorm development. Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky bore the brunt of the storm's damage, which the SPC says at its peak threatened more than 53 million people in 10 states.

Illinois saw the worst of it. National Weather Service meteorologists recorded an EF-4 twister in New Minden, Ill. that completely wiped a farmhouse off its foundation, killing an elderly man and his sister. It was one of only 20 tornadoes of similar strength to occur during the month of November since the middle of the last century.

Two other tornadoes, an EF-2 that swept across Grundy and Will counties, and a deadly twister in the Peoria region, claimed homes and an apartment complex. Other touchdowns laid waste to countless mobile homes.

At least 12 counties in Indiana reported tornado damage, with states of emergency declared in Howard County, home to the towns of Kokomo, Russiaville and Greentown. Severe damage was also reported in Lafayette, Washington and Lebanon cities. One tornado in Logansport caused gas leaks that prompted several complexes to be evacuated.

Overall, the event was a turning point for an otherwise calm year for convective storms and tornadoes. According to the Insurance Information Institute, only 818 tornadoes had been confirmed this year, the lowest annual count since 1988.

Now, however, there have been five severe-weather outbreaks in the U.S., the third-highest total in the country's history behind 2011 and 2012. The most expensive and deadliest single tornado outbreak occurred in May and devastated Moore, Okla., which cost about $562 million in payouts.

U.S. thunderstorms cost $14.9 billion insured losses in 2012, reports Munich Re. The U.S. experiences more tornadoes than any other country worldwide.

Special Reports /

Damages from Explosive Midwest Storm System May Top $1 Billion

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