Central, Southern and Eastern Severe Weather

Losses, 2024 dollars

$1.3 billion

Losses at the time

$1.0 billion

Deaths

1

The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.

• Damaging Winds in North Carolina, April 25 to 26, 2020$10,000 · 50 kt wind · 2 eventsA family of supercells, mostly elevated, tracked along and mostly on the cool side of a warm/wedge front lifting north into the area. Isolated wind damage occurred with these storms across southern portions of central North Carolina.
• Damaging Wind in North Carolina, April 26, 202050 kt wind · 1 eventA couple thunderstorms moved through during the overnight and early morning hours. One such storm became severe and produced some wind damage.
• Hail in Florida, April 26, 20201.25 in hail · 3 eventsTwo severe thunderstorms produced quarter sized hail in Indian River, southern Brevard, and Saint Lucie Counties.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, April 26, 2020$30,000 · 1 in hail · 18 eventsA decaying frontal boundary across South Florida became the focus for convective initiation. Strong thunderstorms developed over the Gulf of Mexico before pushing across the peninsula and then offshore into the Atlantic. These storms produced strong, damaging wind gusts and hail.
• Hail in North Carolina, April 26, 20200.88 in hail · 1 eventIsolated showers and a thunderstorm or two developed over the North Carolina foothills during the afternoon and evening. One of the storms produced brief hail in Catawba County.
• Damaging Winds in North Carolina, April 26, 2020$52,000 · 50 kt wind · 7 eventsShowers and thunderstorms developed along a stalled boundary across central North Carolina during the afternoon and evening as a positivity tilted mid to upper level trough approached the area from the northwest. Some of the storms became severe and produced damaging winds.
• Hail in Virginia, April 26, 20201 in hail · 1 eventIsolated severe thunderstorm associated with low pressure and a cold front produced large hail across portions of southeast Virginia.
• Hail in Oklahoma, April 27, 20201 in hail · 2 eventsStrong to severe thunderstorms developed across northeastern Oklahoma during the late morning and early afternoon of the 27th, as an upper level disturbance approached the area from the northwest. The strongest storms produced large hail up to quarter size.
• Damaging Wind and High Wind in Montana, April 27, 202052 kt wind · 7 eventsWinds increase significantly with the passage of a weak shortwave trough. Expect increasing mid level westerly winds into the 40 to 45 kt range. The associated cold front, translates winds down to the surface.
• Hail in Texas, April 27, 20201.75 in hail · 2 eventsA dryline was present across the Permian Basin. An upper level disturbance moved over the area and provided additional lift. Intense heating created instability in the atmosphere, and wind shear was also present.
• Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Texas, April 27 to 28, 2020$1.0 million · 67 kt wind · 9 eventsThunderstorms developed along a dryline in West Texas and moved into South Central Texas. Some of these storms produced damaging wind gusts.
• Hail in Texas, April 27, 20202 in hail · 1 eventAn isolated severe storm resulted in a large hail report about 5.7 miles south southeast of Sweetwater.
• Hail in Texas, April 28, 20202.75 in hail · 7 eventsNumerous severe thunderstorms formed along a cold front in northern Oklahoma and swept southward across the state. Hail, some very large, was reported with many of these storms, along with a few severe wind gusts.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 28 to 29, 2020$790,000 · 2 in hail · 94 eventsThe first round of severe weather occurred during the early morning hours of April 28th as a weak upper level disturbance allowed isolated storms to form near a dryline. One storm in particular moved into North Texas and produced severe winds and large hail.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, April 28 to 29, 20201.75 in hail · 50 eventsA weak shortwave trough shifted east across East Texas and North Louisiana during the morning hours of April 28th, where large scale forcing contributed to the development of showers and thunderstorms over East Texas and North Louisiana.
• Tornado and Hail in Arkansas, April 28, 2020$400,000 · EF2 · 21 eventsA weak shortwave trough shifted east across East Texas and North Louisiana during the morning hours of April 28th, where large scale forcing contributed to the development of showers and thunderstorms over East Texas, Southwest Arkansas, and North Louisiana.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 28 to 29, 20201 in hail · 21 eventsA weak shortwave trough shifted east across East Texas and North Louisiana during the morning hours of April 28th, where large scale forcing contributed to the development of showers and thunderstorms over East Texas and North Louisiana.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Montana, April 28, 202070 kt wind · 3 eventsA fast-moving low pressure system from Saskatchewan with strong winds aloft, combined with a favorable atmosphere to allow most of those strong winds to reach down to the surface, especially across far eastern Montana.
• Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Louisiana, April 28 to 29, 2020$93,000 · 53 kt wind · 12 eventsA warm and unstable air mass was advected into the area ahead of a weak cold front. A weak disturbance aloft triggered a round of strong to severe storms during an afternoon followed by another round of strong storms the following morning with the passage of a front.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 28 to 29, 2020$30,000 · 50 kt wind · 8 eventsA complex of storms moved through the region late in the afternoon of April 28th and brought wind damage to portions of western Mississippi. A wake low also developed behind this rain and caused additional wind damage outside of rain and storms.
• Damaging Winds in Louisiana, April 28, 2020$26,000 · 78 kt wind · 8 eventsHigh instability combined with lift from an approaching cold front set the stage for severe thunderstorms to develop.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 28, 20201.25 in hail · 11 eventsScattered thunderstorms moved across south central and southeast Kansas during the afternoon hours of April 28th, 2020.
• Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 28, 20201 in hail · 2 eventsA line of strong to severe thunderstorms developed over Missouri and Illinois, from around Kansas City, northeast to around Chicago the afternoon of April 28th, 2020. Bureau County, Illinois saw a severe storm with this line, with winds of 60 mph and hail the size of quarters.
• Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 28, 202052 kt wind · 2 eventsHigh instability combined with lift from an approaching cold front set the stage for severe thunderstorms to develop.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 28, 20203.75 in hail · 54 eventsNumerous severe thunderstorms formed along a cold front in northern Oklahoma and swept southward across the state. Hail, some very large, was reported with many of these storms, along with a few severe wind gusts.
• Hail in Illinois, April 28, 20200.88 in hail · 1 eventScattered thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the afternoon of April 28th producing hail.
• Hail in Kansas, April 28, 20201 in hail · 1 eventA line of thunderstorms developed in southeastern Kansas on 4/28, clipping the far southeastern tip of the Topeka CWA.
• Hail in Missouri, April 28, 20200.88 in hail · 1 eventA storm in Pettis County produced nickel sized hail.
• Tornado and Flash Flooding in Illinois, April 28, 2020$100,000 · EF0 · 8 eventsAn approaching cold front triggered a line of strong thunderstorms across west-central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening of April 28th. A few of the cells produced hail as large as quarters and localized flash flooding.
• Tornado and Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, April 28, 20201 injured · $287,000 · EF1 · 53 eventsA broken line of severe thunderstorms developed across northeastern Oklahoma during the late afternoon hours of the 28th, as a cold front moved into the area. The line of thunderstorms moved southeast across eastern Oklahoma through the evening hours.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 28, 20201 in hail · 9 eventsA line of strong to severe storms moved southeast across the region. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and some large hail.
• Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 28, 202061 kt wind · 3 eventsA large complex of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front|during the afternoon and evening as a dry line and cold front moved across the region and interacted with a very unstable airmass.
• Flash Flood and Hail in Missouri, April 28, 2020$883,000 · 1.75 in hail · 25 eventsA large complex of strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front during the afternoon and evening as a dry line and cold front moved across the region and interacted with a very unstable air mass.
• Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 28, 2020$2,000 · 65 kt wind · 6 eventsA line of severe thunderstorms developed across northeastern Oklahoma during the late afternoon hours of the 28th, as a cold front moved into the area. These thunderstorms moved southeast across northwestern Arkansas during the evening.
• Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 28, 202056 kt wind · 1 eventA line of strong to severe storms moved southeast across the region. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and some large hail.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 28, 2020$166,000 · 1.5 in hail · 40 eventsLocally, there was a lot of wind. Trees were pushed over (on homes and cars in a few cases) at numerous locations. At least 30,000 power outages occurred. A 67 mph wind gust was measured at Fargo (Monroe County).
• Damaging Wind in Texas, April 28, 2020$2,000 · 1 eventA thunderstorm that edged eastward from the Sierra Madre produced gusty winds in excess of 50 mph and a couple of reports of minor damage to trees, power lines, and a recreational vehicle during the evening of April 28th, 2020.
• Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 28, 2020$400,000 · EF2 · 7 eventsA deepening upper level trough sweeping southeast across Oklahoma and Arkansas reinforced a cold front southeast across the Southern Plains and Ozarks region during the afternoon and evening hours on April 28th, where a complex of showers and thunderstorms developed by mid and…
• Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 28, 2020$15,000 · 61 kt wind · 2 eventsA squall line of thunderstorms moved rapidly southeast ahead of a strong 500 mb shortwave trough digging southeast across the Plains states. A couple of damaging wind reports were received along this line of storms.
• Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 28, 202061 kt wind · 3 eventsA line of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds developed over the central U.S and eventually moved into northwest parts of the Mid-South during the late evening hours of April 28, 2020.
• Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, April 28, 2020$10,000 · 50 kt wind · 2 eventsA line of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds developed over the central U.S and eventually moved into northwest parts of the Mid-South during the late evening hours of April 28, 2020.
• Damaging Wind in Mississippi, April 28, 202050 kt wind · 1 eventA line of severe thunderstorms with damaging winds developed over the central U.S and eventually moved into northwest parts of the Mid-South during the late evening hours of April 28, 2020.
• Damaging Winds in Texas, April 29, 2020$3,000 · 52 kt wind · 2 eventsThunderstorms developed along a cold front in North Texas. This line of storms surged southward into South Central Texas and produced damaging wind gusts.
• Damaging Wind in Texas, April 29, 2020$3,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventA warm and unstable air mass was advected into Southeast Texas ahead of a weak cold front. A round of strong storms occurred during the early morning with the passage of a front with one becoming severe.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Tennessee, April 29, 202063 kt wind · 4 eventsA stacked low pressure system with a late afternoon and evening cold frontal passage produced some severe thunderstorms across Eastern Tennessee.
• Damaging Winds in Texas, April 29, 2020$15,000 · 53 kt wind · 7 eventsAn extensive squall line developed over the southern plains during the afternoon of the 28th and moved southward through central and east Texas during the night. The squall line reached the Middle Texas coast during the morning hours of the 29th.
• Damaging Wind in Louisiana, April 29, 202052 kt wind · 1 eventOn the early morning hours of April 29th, a squall line produce high winds from thunderstorms across portions of southeastern Louisiana.
• Damaging Wind in Texas, April 29, 202050 kt wind · 1 eventStrong thunderstorms that produced wind gusts above gale force across the Laguna Madre and the Lower Texas Gulf waters also produced a brief severe level wind gust at the exposed southern tip of South Padre Island early on April 29, 2020.
• Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 29, 2020$1,000 · 52 kt wind · 1 eventA cluster of thunderstorms developed along the lower Ohio River Valley southwest along the Mississippi River. As these storms intensified during the warmth of the afternoon, they produced small hail and isolated strong wind gusts.
• Damaging Wind in Alabama, April 29, 202052 kt wind · 1 eventA narrow line of showers and thunderstorms developed during the midday hours and pushed through northeast Alabama. One report of damaging winds was received in DeKalb County.
• Hail in Kentucky, April 29, 20200.88 in hail · 2 eventsA cluster of thunderstorms developed along the lower Ohio River Valley southwest along the Mississippi River. As these storms intensified during the warmth of the afternoon, they produced hail up to the size of nickels.
• Tornado and Damaging Wind in South Carolina, April 29, 2020EF0 · 2 eventsAreas of rain with embedded low-topped thunderstorms developed across upstate South Carolina during the afternoon and evening. One of these storms produced brief severe weather, including a weak tornado across Anderson County.
• Tornado in Florida, April 29, 2020$50,000 · EF1 · 1 eventAs a cold front moved through the region, showers and thunderstorms ahead of the front mostly remained below severe levels. However, one tornado occurred in Gadsden county associated with a discrete supercell.
• Hail in Oregon, April 29, 20201 in hail · 1 eventA strong low pressure system swept through the Pacific Northwest initiating severe convection across parts of Eastern Oregon.
• Flash Flooding in Georgia, April 29 to 30, 20203 eventsA cold front moved through north and central Georgia through the afternoon of April 29th and into the early morning hours of April 30th. Isolated severe storms produced wind damage in the eastern metro Atlanta area.
• Damaging Wind in Florida, April 30, 202050 kt wind · 1 eventA line of strong to severe storms moved inland toward Gilchrist, Alachua and Marion counties during the pre-dawn hours.
• Flash Flood and Flooding in North Carolina, April 30, 20201 death · $260,000 · 3 eventsAn area of widespread rainfall developed across the western Carolinas in advance of a cold front late on the 29th into the early morning hours of the 30th.
• Damaging Winds in South Carolina, April 30, 202065 kt wind · 6 eventsA band of showers and thunderstorms moved through during the early morning hours, a few of which reached severe limits and produced strong damaging wind gusts.
• Damaging Wind in North Carolina, April 30, 2020$5,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventA cold front stretching from a surface low over the Great Lakes southward into the southern Appalachians moved east across the Carolinas during the morning.
• Damaging Winds in North Carolina, April 30, 202054 kt wind · 10 eventsA line of showers and thunderstorms moved through the region during the day. A couple severe thunderstorm wind reports were observed as the line moved through.
• Damaging Winds in Florida, April 30, 2020$3,000 · 57 kt wind · 8 eventsA line of thunderstorms developed over loop current in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of an approaching cold front.
• Damaging Wind in Virginia, April 30, 2020$1,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventIsolated severe thunderstorm in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds across portions of southeast Virginia.
• Damaging Wind in North Carolina, April 30, 2020$5,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventScattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Flash Flood and Flooding in New York, April 30, 2020$546,000 · 9 eventsHeavy rainfall from an approaching weather system persisted for several hours. A locally enhanced line of thunderstorm activity triggered rapid and enhanced flooding in a few locations.
• Flash Flood and Hail in Idaho, April 30, 20201.75 in hail · 5 eventsA strong low pressure system swept across the Pacific Northwest initiating severe convection across parts of Southwest Idaho.
• Damaging Winds in Idaho, April 30, 202061 kt wind · 19 eventsWind gusts over 60 mph were widespread in the outbreak on the 30th.
• Damaging Winds in Wyoming, April 30, 202059 kt wind · 11 eventsScattered showers, many with no reported lightning associated with them produced wind gusts in excess of 58 mph across portions of southeastern Wyoming. Strongest gust was 68 mph measured near Elk Mountain and Sibley Peak.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Pennsylvania, April 30, 2020$235,000 · 5 eventsHeavy rainfall from an approaching weather system persisted for several hours. A locally enhanced line of thunderstorm activity triggered rapid and enhanced flooding in a few locations.
• Damaging Winds in Utah, April 30, 202057 kt wind · 3 eventsA line of showers with an embedded isolated thunderstorm produced severe wind gusts in the western portion of the Uinta Basin.
• Damaging Winds in South Dakota, April 30, 202053 kt wind · 6 eventsStrong winds accompanied a line of severe thunderstorms as they moved across southwestern South Dakota.
• Damaging Winds in South Dakota, April 30, 202053 kt wind · 2 eventsA line of thunderstorms produced a few wind gusts around 60 mph from near Rapid City to the Badlands area.

Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2020Tornadoes in 2020

NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.