Significant March tornadoes in the United States

As briefly touched upon in the general overview of March tornadoes, significant (F2/EF-2+) only touched down 1,080 times (or 30% of all March tornadoes) from 1950-2010. Yet, even with their relatively small numbers, they accounted for the vast majority of tornado deaths in the month. Because of the comparative damage to life and property they can cause, significant tornadoes are the ones to fear most.

March Significant Tornado Stats (1950-2010)

Total significant tornadoes: 1,080 (30% of all March tornadoes)
March high: 84 (1976)
March low: 0 (1978)

Once again, as with all March tornadoes, Texas leads the pack. But some other changes show up right away. Arkansas, which ranked 8th among the states for all March tornadoes, takes a leap into second for significant tornadoes. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi round out the top 5 in the significant tornado category.

When ranked by year, 1976 is number one for significant tornadoes during the period, as it was with overall tornadoes (180) in March. Interestingly, only one other year with the top-5 number of tornadoes remains on the top-5 list for significant tornadoes, 1991. 2006, 2007 and 2008 all dropped off that list, coming in with fewer big tornadoes than other prolific months of March.

Looking at F3/EF-3+ tornadoes, the leading significant tornado states of Texas and Arkansas continue their edge on the others, but the Gulf Coast states (sans Florida which tends to have a lot of weak tornadoes) continue to be a hotspot of activity as is prevalent throughout the “off season” and early season.

The violent tornado class of F4/EF-4 and higher is where the real nightmares begin. F4/EF-4 tornadoes made up 1.7% of all March tornadoes from 1950-2010 but caused 49.2% of the deaths. Despite its small size, Arkansas takes a commanding lead in F4/EF-4 tornadoes. Texas, which is number one in overall tornadoes and significant tornadoes falls to sixth behind a number of Southern states.

There have been four F5s in March. Two in Kansas, one that traveled from Mississippi to Alabama, and another in Oklahoma. That’s an increase in F5s month-to-month of 3 since February.

Regarding 2011 and the 2012 outbreak…

Numbers not yet in the verified database from 2011 indicate 9 significant tornadoes out of 75. 2 in TN, 1 in PA, 1 in MS, 2 in LA, 1 in IA, and 2 in AL.

At least 28 significant tornadoes including 10 EF-3s in several states and 1 EF-4 in Indiana have been confirmed from the March 2, 2012 tornado outbreak (running list). These numbers will not hit the public SPC database until next year.

This, as other monthly climatology posts, will be updated as needed/possible.

U.S. Tornado Climatology by Month

All: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
Strong: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr| May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec

SPC tornado data obtained at the Tornado History Project. Images can be selected for larger versions. Official yearly tornado statistics are released in the spring of the following year. The most recent data at the time of publish is included, and these posts will be updated after new stats are released. Stay tornado savvy with U.S. Tornadoes on Twitter and Facebook.