Karen Clark and Company estimated privately insured losses from Winter Storm Fern at $6.7 bn. The storm spread snow and ice across more than 30 US states, producing wide-ranging property damage during late January.
The estimate draws on the firm’s high-resolution US Winter Storm Model. It covers privately insured losses to residential, commercial, and industrial properties, including damage from freeze conditions, snow and ice accumulation, and wind.
KCC traced the event back to January 23, when an Arctic air mass pushed south and drove temperatures sharply lower across the Great Plains and Midwest.
Along the boundary between that cold air and warm, moisture-heavy flow from the Gulf, a low-pressure system formed and developed into Winter Storm Fern.
Warm air riding over denser Arctic air produced extensive sleet and freezing rain from Texas through the Carolinas.
KCC reported ice accumulations of at least one inch across parts of northwestern Alabama, northern Louisiana, northern Mississippi, and Oklahoma, levels sufficient to strain infrastructure and vegetation.
Fern advanced northeast on January 24 and 25, delivering heavy snowfall from Arkansas through Maine. Additional freezing rain affected the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic as the system moved along its track. During this period, Arctic air expanded across roughly two-thirds of the country.
KCC identified freeze damage as the dominant loss driver, followed by snow and ice. Freezing rain worsened impacts by adding ice weight, which brought down trees and powerlines.
