Mother Nature gave the state of Texas a break in 2018, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Following a 2017 that brought deadly tornadoes, including one that caused major damage in northeast San Antonio, monster ice storms, and, in late August, the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, the Insurance Council of Texas says the weather took a breather last year, with one of the lowest number of total tornadoes ever to hit the state.
Spokesman Mark Hanna says in all of last year, Texas didn't have a single tornado that caused major damage or injuries, and the 52 total tornadoes reported across the state last year was among lowest since they began keeping records.
After the costliest hailstorm year ever in 2016, which included the very costly North Bexar County hailstorm, there was only one hailstorm of any significance last year, and it caused moderate damage to the north Dallas suburbs. Texas was also not hit by any tropical storms in 2018, following Harvey, which was by far the costliest storm of any sort ever to hit the state.
“Texans needed a break from the bad weather and we were lucky,” Hanna said. “Texas is known for having some of the world’s most violent weather, but thankfully, for the most part, it missed us last year.”
The spring is usually when the most severe weather hits, and the ICT is planning a statewide tour to provide information to home and business owners on how they can protect against severe storm, how to have a home inventory available if you need to file a claim, how to file a claim, and how to avoid scam artists which frequently descend on areas hit by severe weather.
The most serious weather related problem in Texas last year was flooding. The state was hit hard, especially due to heavy rains in Central Texas in September and October.
GRAPH; INSURANCE COUNCIL OF TEXAS