Palm Sunday and Severe Weather

March 12, 2006 Severe Weather  (Source: NOAA)

Severe weather is defined by the National Weather Service as a thunderstorm that contains any of the following, hail at least 1” in diameter or greater, wind gusts of at least 58 mph or a tornado.  The United States experiences an uptick in the frequency of severe weather during the month of March.  There have been several significant severe weather outbreaks in the United States during the March over the last 25 years that heighten the importance of public awareness.

2017:  A significant severe weather outbreak occurred on March 6 last year from Oklahoma to Wisconsin and Nebraska to Indiana.  Of the more than 600 reported cases of severe weather, there were 79 confirmed tornadoes.  While dozen injuries were reported following the tornadoes, there were no fatalities.  

2007: Severe weather in March is more common in the southeast close to the Gulf Coast where the weather is typically warmer and more humid.  For example, on March 1, 2007 when a severe weather outbreak occurred that was concentrated in Mississippi, Georgia and north Florida.  Of the nearly 300 severe weather reports, there were 68 confirmed tornadoes that claimed 20 lives.  

2006: One of the larger March tornado outbreaks on record occurred on March 12 with nearly 700 severe weather reports.  That includes 140 confirmed tornadoes that were concentrated in the state of Missouri.  These tornadoes resulted in four fatalities in addition to several dozen injuries.  

Between 1990 and 2000 there were several other memorable March severe weather outbreaks.  On March 28, 2000, an F3 tornado caused widespread damage in Fort Worth, Texas with two fatalities.  Palm Sunday occurred on March 27 in 1994.  That’s when more than two dozen tornadoes developed in the southeast United States and claimed 40 lives with nearly 500 reported injuries.  

Tornadoes were initially ranked on the “Fujita Scale” (from F0 to F5), but have been ranked on the updated or “Enhanced Fujita Scale” (EF-0 to an EF-5) since 2007.  The strongest tornadoes, ranked an F5 or an EF5, are exceedingly rare.  The last F5 or EF5 tornado to occur in the United States during the month of March was on March 13, 1990 in the state of Kansas.  Overall, there haven’t been any EF5 tornadoes anywhere in the United States since May 2013.  The strongest tornadoes to occur in Maryland and Virginia were F4’s.  

Severe weather is more common in the Mid-Atlantic Region during the late-spring and summer months.  However, there have been some occasional March days with severe weather in DC Metro Area.