Dispatches from the Weekend Tornado Outbreak

Before the close of business Friday, officials warned of a dangerous storm system with the potential to produce powerful tornadoes coalescing over the country's midsection. Unfortunately, the predictions turned out to be all too accurate. Here's what we know:

• The only deadly tornado touched down in Woodward, Oklahoma, a town of about 12,000 just east of the state's panhandle. Six people were killed and 90 homes destroyed in the storm. Oklahoma's insurance commissioner is

  [Read what Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak's had to say about the Federal Insurance Office.]

• New tornado warnings that bluntly describe the danger of storms were tested in several areas, and are credited with saving lives in Iowa.

• The outbreak comes almost exactly one year after more than 20 people were killed in an outbreak in North Carolina. The anniversary is being marked across the state, but some are unsure if area residents have adapted to what represents a new kind of peril for the region.

[Read how North Carolina Farm Bureau's CSC Exceed claims system helped it respond to last year's outbreak — even while some offices were still being trained in its use.]

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