Between March 29–31, 2022, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms and multiple supercells swept through portions of the United States and brought widespread wind damage and several strong

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

es across a large part of the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, Southern, and

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

. An EF3 tornado was confirmed in

Springdale, Arkansas Springdale is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city had a population of 84,161 at the 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns in Arkan ...

, while an EF1 tornado passed close to downtown

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. Numerous tornadoes, some of which were strong occurred over

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

the evening of March 30 and into the early morning of March 31. Multiple tornadoes also occurred in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

, including an intense EF3 tornado that killed two people and injured three others near

Alford, Florida Alford is a town in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The Town of Alford is located on the Florida Panhandle near Marianna, in North Florida. The population was 484 at the 2020 census. Geography The approximate coordinates for the Town o ...

, and in other states such as

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Producing a total of 90 tornadoes, this was the largest tornado outbreak of 2022.

Meteorological synopsis

On March 25, the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceani ...

(SPC) issued an outlook highlighting the potential for organized severe weather across portions of the Southern Plains and Southeast United States beginning on March 29. This region had already been affected by a significant tornado outbreak just days prior. Subsequent forecasts increased the risk level across portions of the Southeast, in addition to encompassing sections of the Mid-Atlantic into March 31. While March 29 translated to a level 2/Slight risk of severe weather stretching from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

southward to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, a broader and more significant threat area began to materialize across the Southeast valid for the following day. The SPC outlined an expansive level 4/Moderate risk of severe weather stretching from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

eastward through Alabama. In this region, forecasters noted the potential for an extensive

squall line A squall line, or quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), is a line of thunderstorms, often forming along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front (which often are accompanied by abrupt a ...

capable of producing hurricane-force damaging winds and numerous tornadoes, some of which could be significant/EF2 or greater. These predictions were further expanded to include portions of Tennessee and Florida. Synoptically, forecasters highlighted a broad upper-level

trough Trough may refer to: In science * Trough (geology), a long depression less steep than a trench * Trough (meteorology), an elongated region of low atmospheric pressure * Trough (physics), the lowest point on a wave * Trough level (medicine), the l ...

over the Western United States as the impetus for a potential severe weather outbreak. A potent and negatively-tilted

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

was expected to round the base of this larger trough, providing substantial upper-level divergence for thunderstorm development across a broad region. This feature was anticipated to significantly increase mid- and low-level

wind shear Wind shear (; also written windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical ...

as it progressed from Texas northeastward into

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

on March 30. At the surface, a quickly deepening area of

low pressure In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...

was forecast to move across

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, providing significant advection of moist air into its open warm sector. Widespread convection initiated along the

dry line A dry line (also called a dew point line, or Marfa front, after Marfa, Texas) is a line across a continent that separates moist air and dry air. One of the most prominent examples of such a separation occurs in central North America, especially ...

across the Southern Plains on March 29, congealing into an organized squall line as the potent upper-level system continued to translate eastward. By the pre-dawn hours of March 30, observations across the Arklatex and Ozarks showed modest

CAPE A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

and very strong wind shear, a combination that suggested some potential for

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone, a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (su ...

s capable of producing large hail, wind damage, and isolated tornadoes. Shortly after 09:00 UTC, a tornado developed in

Washington County, Arkansas Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th County (United States), county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, inc ...

, causing EF3 damage to an elementary school and a large warehouse building in Springdale. It resulted in seven injuries. Into the afternoon hours, with continued moisture advection and surface heating contributing to additional

instability In dynamical systems instability means that some of the outputs or internal states increase with time, without bounds. Not all systems that are not stable are unstable; systems can also be marginally stable or exhibit limit cycle behavior. ...

, a well-organized squall line began to intensify as it moved across Arkansas,

, and eventually into Alabama. Across central and coastal sections of these states, environmental conditions became more conducive for the squall line to devolve into a series of semi-discrete supercell thunderstorms, with a heightened risk of tornadoes. As the night progressed, multiple strong supercells embedded within the larger storm system developed across Mississippi, Alabama, and the

. Entering a highly favorable environment for maturing, the storms began producing tornadoes, some of which were long-tracked, causing severe damage. A long-tracked, intense tornado occurred in central Alabama, passing through

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

and Bibb counties. By the early morning hours of, the severe weather shifted to the Florida Panhandle, where an intense supercell developed near

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. This supercell would produce multiple tornadoes along its track, the first one of which prompted a PDS tornado warning near the towns of Harold and Holt, in

Santa Rosa County Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population was 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities withi ...

. Later on, another supercell developed further east, becoming tornadic over Washington County, and another PDS tornado warning was issued for Alford. Two people were killed and three others were injured by a strong EF3 tornado that destroyed multiple homes and mobile homes near the town. Later that day, scattered tornadoes touched down across areas of the

as far north as

before the outbreak came to an end.

Confirmed tornadoes

March 29 event

March 30 event

March 31 event

Impact

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, t ...

was heavily delayed by severe weather that moved through the

Texarkana The Texarkana metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is a two-county region anchored by the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Texarkana, Texas (population 37,33 ...

area on the morning of March 30. The

City of New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

were also delayed by downed trees and other debris blocking the right-of-way on March 31. The northbound and southbound Carolinian were both delayed by severe warnings in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Intense winds relating to the system on March 31 forced flight cancellations out of major airports in

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, as well as lead to a 3-car pileup in

Iota, Louisiana Iota is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The population was 1,304 in 2020. Iota is part of the Crowley, Louisiana, Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The history of Iota is identified with Pointe-aux-Lo ...

. Intense gradient winds ahead of the severe storms downed numerous trees and power lines in

. Arcing power lines sparked over 60 wildfires in the state as well.

Notes

References

External links