AccuWeather: Severe Storms in Central US Cause $80-90B in Damages, Economic Loss

A multiday severe weather outbreak in the central U.S. caused an estimated $80 billion to $90 billion in total damage and economic loss, according to a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather.

From April 2 to April 6, a rare weather system dumped 8 inches to 16 inches of rain across Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. Some communities reported localized amounts of rainfall up to 20 inches, leading to extreme flash flooding, AccuWeather said.

AccuWeather said it uses “independent methods” to come up with its direct and indirect impacts of the storm, and includes insured and uninsured losses.

There have been nearly 90 reports of tornadoes since the start of April, the weather agency said, and at least three tornadoes have been preliminarily rated as EF3 or stronger, with winds of 136 mph or higher, in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Hailstones as large as 3 inches or more in diameter and wind gusts up to 100 mph also caused damage during the weather outbreak, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

AccuWeather cautioned that damage estimates are still preliminary, adding that major river flooding will continue in some areas for days to come, resulting in additional risk to lives and property.

“A rare atmospheric river continually resupplying a firehose of deep tropical moisture into the central U.S., combined with a series of storms traversing the same area in rapid succession, created a ‘perfect storm’ for catastrophic flooding and devastating tornadoes,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

The early April severe storm outbreak is on pace to become the third multi-billion-dollar weather disaster in 2025. AccuWeather estimated a January southern winter storm resulted in $14 billion to 17 billion in total damage and economic loss, while the January Los Angeles wildfires caused an estimated $250 billion to $275 billion in losses.

“There is no doubt that the frequency and severity of extreme weather in America is escalating,” Porter said. “More people, businesses and communities are feeling the direct impacts, which are being fueled by a warming climate.”