March’s Uptick in Severe Weather

(Photo Credit: Kristen Leitch)

Spring officially arrives in the Northern Hemisphere in March and there is often a commensurate increase in the amount of severe weather compared to January and February.  “Severe weather” is defined as a thunderstorm that contains one or more of the following: wind gusts of at least 58 mph, hail 1”/+ in diameter, or a tornado.  There have been some notable March severe weather outbreaks in recent years.

2020: There was a severe weather outbreak late yesterday from Iowa to Mississippi with more than a dozen tornadoes reported.  Lots of large hail was also reported with sightings of 2” to 3” in diameter.  A wind gust of up to 90 mph was also observed in Henderson County, Kentucky.

A series of tornadoes occurred late in the evening of March 1 continuing into the early morning hours of March 2, primarily in Tennessee.  According to NOAA, there were a total of 20 tornadoes that caused 27 fatalities.  The strongest tornado that touched down was an EF-4 in Putnam County, Tennessee.  Its winds ranged between 166 mph and 200 mph.

As accurate as weather warnings have become, if people are sleeping or don’t get the latest weather information, than that’s a recipe for disaster.  While smartphone technology has greatly improved the ability to relay the latest critical weather news to the public, it isn’t 100% effective yet.

2012: March 2012 was the warmest March on record in the Nation’s Capital and for much of the United States.  Consequently, there was a significant amount of severe weather during the month.  The most significant outbreak occurred on March 2, when there was a total of 160 confirmed tornadoes from Illinois to South Carolina.  A total of 29 fatalities were reported during this tornado outbreak.  

2009: Although not as large as the two aforementioned outbreaks, the severe weather that occurred on March 29, 2009 was noteworthy for where it occurred.  There were dozens of reports of severe hail from Maryland to Connecticut.  There was one confirmed tornado during this outbreak: an EF-1 near the town of Lititz in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  It had winds between 86 mph and 110 mph during its 1.25 mile long track and three injuries were reported.

2008: Another severe weather outbreak was memorable not only for the reported damage, but for its location.  On March 4, there was a total of 331 cases of severe weather reported to NOAA from Alabama to Rhode Island.  While there were seven tornadoes, the dominant type this event was severe wind gusts.  Although a fatality occurred when a tree was blown onto a mobile home in Tennessee, it was fortunate that an outbreak that covered such a large geographic area didn’t result in more loss of life.