2017 U.S. Midwest hailstorm caused $2.5 billion in damages in Minnesota

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

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From Sunday, June 11, through Monday, June 19, 2017, several areas east of the Mississippi River were hit by severe thunderstorms. The storms included heavy rain, tornadoes, strong winds and hail that was so aggressive it looked like snow accumulation.

The storms hit quite a few states including, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

Minnesota was highly impacted. On June 11, a derecho moved from South Dakota to southern and central Minnesota. It then went through Wisconsin and headed to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Areas near Genoa, Neb., reported tennis ball-sized hail.

Throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas, the wind speeds reached up to 140 km/h. People were injured by trees that were knocked over by the wind. In Kansas, the wind blew 18-wheelers right off the highway.

Between South Dakota and Minnesota, there were 12 reported tornadoes. The heavy winds and stormy weather in Minnesota caused a power outage for 90,000 people.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the hail in Minnesota caused approximately $2.5 billion in damages, making it one of the costliest hailstorms in U.S. history.

Courtesy of NOAA

To learn more about the widespread thunderstorms and hailstorms across the U.S., listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

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Thumbnail: Courtesy of NOAA