Winter storms caused $155 billion in economic damages

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) –
Devastating coast-to-coast winter weather is estimated to have caused around $155 billion in economic damages, making it likely that February 2021 was the costliest in terms of weather impact in recent US history, UPI reports. The estimated economic damage costs for the entire 2020 Atlantic hurricane season were a comparatively small $60 billion to $65 billion.

This year’s winter storms caused at least 58 deaths, in addition to crop failure, water disruption, broken pipes, and sweeping power outages which left millions of people without heating in extraordinarily freezing temperatures.

Texas was particularly hard-hit and AccuWeather estimates that $130 of the damages and economic loss pertain to this state alone.

AccuWeather’s estimates are based on analysis of direct and indirect impacts of the storm and a variety of sources and statistics. Damage estimates take into consideration such things as food spoilage, lost wages, damaged infrastructure, and business and school closures, UPI said. Insurance claims and the overall impact on the economy are also factored in.

“In February, we saw one of the most intensely cold and stormy patterns of winter weather not seen in decades with extreme record low temperatures and ice spread out across a very large area in multiple states,” AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel Myers said in a statement.

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