Wild March Weather

 

 

Severe Weather on March 1-2, 2020 (Source: NOAA)

There is a discernable uptick in the amount of severe weather that occurs in the United States during March compared to earlier in the year.  There have been significant March severe weather outbreaks in recent years.

2020: A severe weather outbreak occurred early last March 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 series of tornadoes occurred late in the evening of March 1 continuing into the early morning hours, primarily in Tennessee.  According to NOAA, there were a total of 20 tornadoes that caused 29 fatalities.  The strongest tornado was an EF-4 in Putnam County, Tennessee.  Its winds ranged between 166 mph and 200 mph.

2012: March 2012 was the warmest March on record in the Nation’s Capital, as well as for much of the United States.  Consequently, there was a significant amount of severe weather.  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, severe weather on March 29, 2009 was memorable for where it occurred.  There were dozens of reports of severe hail from Maryland to Connecticut.  A lone confirmed tornado occurred during this outbreak: an EF-1 near the town of Lititz in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  It had winds between 86 mph and 110 mph and three injuries were reported during its 1.25 mile long track.

2006: One of the largest March tornado outbreaks occurred on March 12 with nearly 700 severe weather reports.  That includes 140 confirmed tornadoes, which were concentrated in the state of Missouri.  These tornadoes resulted in four fatalities in addition to dozens of 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 March was on March 13, 1990 in the state of Kansas.  Overall, there haven’t been any EF5 tornadoes in the United States since May 2013. 

As accurate as weather warnings have become, if people are sleeping or don’t get the latest forecast, then 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.  Internet and cellular service aren’t reliable across the entire United States yet either.  A good and relatively inexpensive investment to ensure you get the latest weather watches and warnings would be to get a NOAA Weather Radio regardless of where you live.