Not Going Quietly: More Tornadoes Hit US South

Tornado season generally fades out by Thanksgiving, but in a year defined by heavy catastrophe activity, most people probably expected one last hurrah.

Last night tornadoes cut across the U.S. south from Louisiana to the Carolinas, including the tornado-weary states of Alabama and North Carolina. Thankfully, the human toll wasn't as high as the last major outbreak, which killed nearly 350 people, but casualties were reported. Images are rolling in, including these from the area around Auburn University in Alabama.

Next up: Damage reports and insured loss estimates. It's not just perception, this has been a banner year for insurance losses. ISO, PCI, and the I.I.I. reported last month that insured losses in the first half of 2011 nearly tripled from the previous year. That's without counting Hurricane Irene, the Halloween snowstorm, and this tornado outbreak.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio