Published: March 3, 2020
Spring tornado season typically begins to ramp up in March as the ingredients necessary for severe weather come together more often.
An average of 80 tornadoes occurs each March, based on the last 20 years. This is about double the typical tornado counts observed in February or January. March is the fifth most tornadic month. Its average is on par with August and September, which historically get a boost in tornado activity from tropical storm and hurricanes.
March has been a month of tornado extremes the last five years. March 2017 was on the most active on record with 192 tornadoes, but just 11 tornadoes were confirmed in March 2015.
After a stretch of three years with no March tornado deaths, there were 23 deaths last year. All of those occurred in Lee County, Alabama, on March 3.
This March is starting off on a tragic note. More than a dozen people died across four counties in Tennessee due to multiple tornadoes that developed early Tuesday.
The worst tornado in U.S. history also struck in March. The "Tri-State Tornado" carved a path from Missouri to Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925, killing 694 people.
Where Tornadoes Occur in March
The threat of tornadoes creeps farther north in March, compared to February, as ample moisture surges northward at times. Warm, humid air then combines with jet stream winds that are still strong as spring begins.
Tornadoes can form during March from the Central and Southern Plains into the southern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Deep South. Areas from eastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas eastward into much of Alabama have the highest likelihood of tornadoes compared to other regions, on average.
This doesn't mean that tornadoes can't occur outside the red-shaded areas on the map above. Extreme warmth in March 2012 helped tornadoes develop as far north as southern Minnesota and northern Michigan. Tornadoes occurred in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in February 2017 and in Ohio and Pennsylvania in January 2019.
Now is the time to review or develop a severe weather plan. Do you know where to take shelter if you receive a tornado warning in the middle of the day or overnight and how would you get that warning?
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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