Severe weather proliferates in March

 

March tornado averages (Source: NOAA)

March typically sees an uptick in severe weather across the central and southern United
States. There are specific criteria that make a thunderstorm “severe,” including the presence of any of the following: wind gusts of at least 58 mph; hail 1”/+ in diameter; or a tornado. Sometimes the strongest thunderstorms can have more than one type of severe weather. Here are some notable March severe weather outbreaks in recent years:

2024: A large-scale outbreak occurred on March 14 with over 400 severe weather reports to NOAA from Texas to Pennsylvania. Over three dozen confirmed tornadoes touched down. The deadliest was an EF-3 in Ohio that had peak winds of 155 mph and caused three fatalities. Unusually large hail up to 4” in diameter was also reported in parts of Illinois and Oklahoma.

2023: A massive outbreak occurred on March 31 with over 700 confirmed severe weather reports, including over 160 tornadoes. The outbreak stretched from Iowa to Georgia with tornadoes that claimed 20 lives along with dozens of injuries. Hail over 3” in diameter fell in Illinois and multiple wind gusts over 70 mph were reported.

2022: This outbreak spanned three days and covered a large swath of the United States with severe weather reports from Nebraska to Florida to Pennsylvania. The Mid-Atlantic Region was impacted on March 31 with a slew of severe weather reports. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado caused minor damage in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Meanwhile, another EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Centreville, Virginia. Both tornadoes were on the ground for less than a minute.  Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

2020: An outbreak occurred on March 1 from Missouri to Tennessee. Large hail was reported with sightings of 2” to 3” in diameter. A series of tornadoes occurred late in the evening and continued into the early morning hours of March 2, primarily in Tennessee. There was a total of 20 tornadoes that caused 29 fatalities, according to NOAA. The strongest tornado was an EF-4 in Putnam County, Tennessee, with winds between 166 mph and 200 mph.

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. The most damaging outbreak occurred on March 2, when a total of 160 tornadoes touched down from Illinois to South Carolina. A total of 29 fatalities were reported.

As accurate as weather warnings have become, if people don’t get the latest information, 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. That’s why a NOAA weather radio or the NOAA weather alerts app for your mobile devices is a good idea.