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Article Type:
Research Article

The Tristate Hailstorm: The Most Costly on Record

Stanley A. Changnon Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois

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Jonathan Burroughs Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois

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Print Publication:
01 Aug 2003
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175//2549.1
Page(s):
1734–1739
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Abstract

The most damaging hailstorm ever recorded moved from eastern Kansas to southern Illinois during an 8-h period on 10 April 2001, depositing 2.5- to 7.5-cm-diameter hailstones along a 585-km path. A classic long-lived supercell storm was the cause of the record hailfalls. The record-large hailswath size, large and often windblown hailstones, and movement over portions of the St. Louis and Kansas City urban areas led to $1.5 billion in insured losses. This tristate hailstorm and other adjacent hailstorms collectively created $1.9 billion in insured losses in a 2-day period, becoming the ninth most costly weather catastrophe in the United States since property insurance records began in 1949.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Stanley A. Changnon, Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois State Water Survey, 2204 Griffith Dr., Champaign, IL 61820. Email: schangno@uiuc.edu

Abstract

The most damaging hailstorm ever recorded moved from eastern Kansas to southern Illinois during an 8-h period on 10 April 2001, depositing 2.5- to 7.5-cm-diameter hailstones along a 585-km path. A classic long-lived supercell storm was the cause of the record hailfalls. The record-large hailswath size, large and often windblown hailstones, and movement over portions of the St. Louis and Kansas City urban areas led to $1.5 billion in insured losses. This tristate hailstorm and other adjacent hailstorms collectively created $1.9 billion in insured losses in a 2-day period, becoming the ninth most costly weather catastrophe in the United States since property insurance records began in 1949.

Corresponding author address: Dr. Stanley A. Changnon, Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois State Water Survey, 2204 Griffith Dr., Champaign, IL 61820. Email: schangno@uiuc.edu

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