Severe Weather Outbreak With Widespread Damaging Winds, Over 35 Tornadoes Swept Through Midwest, South, East
A extreme climate outbreak lashed elements of the South, Midwest and East with widespread damaging winds and over three dozen tornadoes in a 3rd outbreak within the first half of March 2026.
Over a two-day span from March 15-16, over 800 studies of excessive winds and wind harm generated by extreme thunderstorms have been acquired by the National Weather Service from japanese Texas to the Midwest to the East Coast.
Among the numerous cities that reported these thunderstorm winds or harm included Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, Nashville, Indianapolis, Louisville, Atlanta, Raleigh, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.
In Jonesboro, Arkansas, a 75 mph wind gust tore shingles off a roof. In Brookwood, Alabama, one motorist was injured when excessive winds topped a tree onto a automotive. Another tree fell on a house in Duval County, Florida as a consequence of thunderstorm winds.
Winds reached 71 mph at Newark and 72 mph at JFK Airport as thunderstorms swept by way of the New York City tri-state space simply after midnight on March 17.
The NWS confirmed 37 tornadoes in 9 states on this outbreak, all of which have been both rated EF0 or EF1. Seventeen of these tornadoes touched down in Illinois whereas one other seven have been confirmed in Missouri.
That included an EF0 tornado in the north Charlotte metro area On the morning of March 16, town’s first twister since Dec. 29, 2024.
(MORE: Outbreak Impacts)
Peter Zay/Anadolu through Getty Images
There have been additionally greater than 60 giant hail studies, with tennis ball-sized hail being reported in San Augustine and Nacogdoches Counties, Texas.
This extreme outbreak was the third in a 12-day span in March 2026. It hit some areas that have been additionally hit by extreme climate in a single or each of the earlier outbreaks from March 5-8 and March 10-12.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at climate.com and has been protecting nationwide and worldwide climate since 1996. Extreme and weird climate are his favourite matters. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
