March begins uptick in spring tornadoes across US
An average of 92 tornadoes occur in the U.S. each March. Although that only ranks as the nation's fifth most active month for twisters, it's more than double February's average tornado count of 44.
Here is where tornadoes are most likely to occur in each month
In the U.S., a tornado can happen any time and anywhere. However, depending on the time of year, there are areas that are more at risk than others.
As meteorological spring begins in March, so does the uptick in severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the U.S. as the year's most active months for twisters – April, May and June – approach.
Applying a statistical analysis to the locations and frequencies of confirmed tornadoes in the U.S. since 1950, FOX Weather Senior Weather Data Specialist Shane Brown compiled the map below illustrating the areas most susceptible to tornadoes in March.
Where tornadoes are most likely to form in March
March's tornado probability.
(FOX Weather)
In the early spring, the jet stream remains quite strong as it begins its northward migration out of the southern U.S. This causes the threat of tornadoes to also spread farther north during March and into April and May.
Temperatures in the 70s, 80s and, occasionally, even the 90s typically become more widespread across the South as March progresses, and that warmth can also penetrate farther northward into the Plains and Midwest. The warmth is often accompanied by dew points in the 60s or 70s, indicative of a humid air mass that can supply fuel for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
A tornado churns up dust in the sunset light near Traer, Iowa.
(Brad Goddard / NOAA)
In March, the general tornado risk area extends from the central and southern Plains eastward to the lower and mid-Mississippi Valley, the Southeast and northward to the Tennessee and Ohio valleys. That includes cities such as Dallas-Fort Worth, New Orleans, St. Louis, Atlanta, Nashville in Tennessee, Raleigh in North Carolina and Tampa in Florida.
An average of 92 tornadoes occur in the U.S. each March. Although that only ranks as the nation's fifth most active month for twisters, it's more than double February's average tornado count of 44.
WHERE ARE TORNADOES MOST COMMON?
Average tornadoes by month.
(FOX Weather)
As a whole, the U.S. averages 1,333 tornadoes annually, of which more than half tend to occur between April and June.
The areas most vulnerable to tornadoes change throughout the year as the jet stream migrates north and south. This story discusses where tornadoes are most likely to occur each month.
March 2022 was most active for tornadoes on record
You only have to look back a few years to find a busy March for tornadoes.
March 2022 had 234 confirmed tornadoes across the U.S., ranking as the most active of any March on record dating to 1950. That's about 2.5 times the monthly average.
DOES MARCH REALLY COME IN LIKE A LION AND GO OUT LIKE A LAMB?
The most March tornadoes on record since 1950.
(FOX Weather)
A combination of three severe weather outbreaks was responsible for vaulting March 2022 to the top of the record books. Those occurred on March 5-6 in the Midwest, March 21-22 in the South and March 30-31 in the South and East.
The strongest tornado was an EF-4 twister that struck Winterset, Iowa, just southwest of Des Moines, on March 5, which killed six people and caused widespread damage, including downed trees and flipped cars.
EF-4 tornado approaches Winterset, Iowa, on March 5, 2022.
(Adam O'Neil / PepperHarrow Farm)