Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021 - 10

Figure 5
2020 Derecho Event
United States
Department of
Agriculture
This product was prepared by the
USDA Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)
World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB)
Midwest Derecho
Storm-related Tornado, Wind & Hail Report
August 10, 2020
Major corn area
Minor corn area
(Updated - Aug 13, 2020)
Fall 2020
Turbulent storms and wildfires were an imStorm
Reports
Tornado
Wind (> 75 mph)
Wind
Hail (> 2 " dia.)
Hail
August 10, 2020 Derecho: Lowest Angle NWS Radar Reflectivity at One-Hour Time Steps
All times in CDT
portant part of the weather story throughout the
fall. By the end of the hurricane season, another
three hurricanes and two storms made landfall
in the United States. This brought the total for
the year to a record 12 storms, surpassing the
previous record of nine in 2016. The additional
fall hurricane activity brought the total for the
year to six, tying the records set in 1886 and
1985. At the same time, the La Niña, which developed
during the second half of the year, contributed
to the already dry conditions from the
Pacific Coast to the High Plains. The dry conditions
lead to outbreaks of devastating wildfires
in California, Washington, Oregon, and Colorado
(Figure 6).
In early September, Hurricane Laura recovThis
long-lasting severe wind thunderstorm complex (known as a derecho) produced hundreds of reports of damage along with likely a few tornadoes.
NWS Chicago / weather.gov
Aug 11, 2020)
Source: https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/cj82k728n/3t946c39r/w6634s119/wwcb3320.pdf
eastern Iowa. The winds damaged or destroyed
outbuildings, barns, grain bins, homes, mobile
homes, apartment buildings, trees, and power
poles in parts of Benton, Linn, Jones, Cedar,
and Clinton counties. The Cedar Rapids
area was particularly hard hit. Several homes,
apartment complexes, and businesses sustained
damage consistent with 130-140 mph winds.
Radio transmission towers in Marion and Clinton,
Iowa, collapsed due to winds that were estimated
at approximately 130 mph. Wind gusts of
80-100 mph were common as the line of storms
moved through the Quad Cities area and then
through northwest Illinois. In addition to the
structural damage, millions of acres of crops
were damaged or destroyed.
The damage across the path of the storm,
primarily to corn and soybean crops, was estimated
by RMA cause of loss information and
state Crop-Hail insurance figures combined
to be more than $400 million.2
High crop insurance
participation rates by farmers in the
region helped provide needed relief to producers
who suffered losses and serves as a vivid
example of the benefits of the Federal crop
insurance program when disasters strike.
As the Midwest struggled with recovery
from the derecho, the remnants of storms in
10 SECONDQUARTER2021
the Eastern Pacific spread across the western
United States in mid-August. Multiple lightning
strikes resulted in many large wildfires
in California, which consumed vegetation
over more than one million acres in less
than a weeks' time. These fires in the Coastal
Range east of San Jose, in the foothills north
of Napa and east of Santa Rosa, and in the
Mendocino National Forest were the second,
third, and fourth largest in the state's history.
Meanwhile, wildfires in the Colorado wilderness
north of Grand Junction were the
state's largest in modern history, burning over
139,00 acres.
The summer ended with yet another
weather disaster of a different kind. Hurricane
Laura struck the coast of Louisiana near Cameron,
a Category 4 storm with sustained winds
of 150 mph. Laura was the strongest hurricane
to make landfall in Louisiana since 1856, comparable
in terms to an area affected in modern
times only to Audrey in 1957. Laura inflicted
severe damage in the coastal areas of Louisiana
and southeastern Texas, spreading high winds
and record-breaking rainfall as far north
as Arkansas.
ery efforts in Southwest Louisiana continued
while high heat and strong winds in the droughtplagued
West contributed to an outbreak of devastating
wildfires. Northeast of Fresno, Calif.,
the Creek Fire burned more than 330,000 acres
and destroyed over 850 structures. Fires continued
to rage, and, by mid-September, 15 fires had
consumed another 100,000 acres across California,
Oregon, and Washington.
On September 16, Hurricane Sally made
landfall near Gulf Shores, Ala. A Category 2
storm with winds up to 121 mph and heavy
rainfall hammered the area. Wind damage and
record flooding was experienced across southern
Alabama and western Florida. The storm
continued to produce excessive rainfall as it
played out as far north as southern Virginia.
In October, another two hurricanes, Delta
and Zeta, struck the United States in Louisiana.
This multiple storm activity resulted in crop
damage in the Southeast, including damage to
rice, cotton, and peanuts. On October 9, Hurricane
Delta made landfall near Creole, La., just
nine miles from where Hurricane Laura had
pushed ashore a little over six weeks earlier.
A Category 2 hurricane with winds above 100
mph and torrential rains, Delta caused damage
as far west as the Texas state line, Mississippi,
and across the Southeast. Delta resulted in 16
parishes in Louisiana and six counties in eastern
Texas being named as approved counties under
the new crop insurance Hurricane Insurance
Protection - Wind Index (HIP-WI) program.
All but two of the areas had previously been
2 https://www.rma.usda.gov/SummaryOfBusiness/CauseOfLoss Data accessed as of 3/24/2021.

http://www.weather.gov https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/cj82k728n/3t946c39r/w6634s119/wwcb3320.pdf https://www.rma.usda.gov/SummaryOfBusiness/CauseOfLoss

Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021

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