Man Rescues Aunt After Deadly Tornadoes
A multi-day,deadly severe weather outbreak spawned over 100 tornadoes in 14 states,along with damaging thunderstorm winds from the South to the Midwest and East in the largest rash of severe weather so far in 2025.
The Top Level Stats
So far,the National Weather Service has confirmed at least 105 tornadoes have touched down in the U.S. in the three-day outbreak from March 14-16.
Of those,41 were categorized as "strong"tornadoes,those that produced at least EF2 damage on the Enhanced Fujita scale from which tornadoes are rated and peak winds are estimated.
(MORE:Tornado Outbreak News Updates,Death Toll)
That's an impressive fraction of stronger tornadoes,indicative of a major outbreak. By contrast,an early March outbreak in the South spawned 30 tornadoes,but only one of them was strong.
Damage surveys by NWS staff are continuing,so these figures will climb higher over the next several days.
In addition to the tornadoes,there were almost 1,000 reports of large hail and either damaging or strong thunderstorm wind gusts during the outbreak.
Over 900 tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued by local NWS offices during the outbreak.
The 'Violent'Tornadoes
Three of these tornadoes were rated EF4,a threshold the NWS classifies as violent tornadoes. Twisters this strong aren't rare,but they make up a small fraction of America's yearly tornado tally. From zero to six EF4 tornadoes occurred in the U.S. each year from 2015 through 2024.
Two of those EF4 tracked through northern Arkansas at night on March 14. The first one tore a 46-mile long path in just under an hour through Stone,Izard and Sharp Counties,destroying cabins and homes,injuring four. The second EF4 tornado carved through parts of Independence and Jackson Counties,north of Newport,injuring two.
These were the strongest tornadoes in Arkansas since the Dec. 10,2021 outbreak,according to the NWS-Little Rock office. It was also the first time in almost 28 years that two F/EF4 tornadoes happened on the same day in the state.
The other violent tornado left EF4 damage in its wake in two separate areas of southern Mississippi on its 65-mile long path from Tangipahoa Parish,Louisiana,to Covington County,Mississippi. While five people were killed in this tornado,one resident whose home was destroyed "fled to a brick building upon receiving a storm warning,"according to the NWS-Jackson,Mississippi,damage survey.
Long-Track Tornadoes
Another signature of a higher-end outbreak was the number of long-track tornadoes.
In northeast Arkansas,an EF3 tornado tore an almost 82-mile-long path from Independence County to Clay County.
Another EF3 tornado from far northern Arkansas into southeast Missouri was on the ground for 58 miles,while a southwest Indiana EF2 tornado carved almost 58 miles through Gibson,Pike and Daviess Counties.
In all,13 Arkansas tornadoes had a combined 250 miles of damage across the Natural State,roughly the driving distance between Atlanta and Nashville. The NWS-Paducah,Kentucky,office said the combined tornado tracks (183 miles) in their forecast area of southeast Missouri,southern Illinois,southwest Indiana and western Kentucky was the second most in their office's history since the 1980s,behind only May 26,2024 (255 miles).
Other Notable Damage
One other long-track EF2 tornado tracked through the northwest St. Louis metro area,narrowly missing Lambert International Airport before crossing the Mississippi River near Alton,Illinois.
Just across the Mississippi River,wind-driven hail damaged homes and other buildings in O'Fallon,Illinois,minutes before an EF1 tornado was spawned just northeast of the town.
Sadly,the same home in Paragould,Arkansas,damaged by a late May 2024 tornado was damaged again by an EF2 tornado just after midnight on March 15.
In Alabama,an EF2 tornado flipped a school bus onto the roof of the Winterboro High School gymnasium in Talladega County. One person was killed in this tornado. An EF3 tornado heavily damaged homes and businesses and killed two in Plantersville.
Finally,the outbreak ended with a predawn EF1 tornado on St. Patrick's Day near Woodville,North Carolina. While it destroyed three mobile homes and damaged others,miraculously,nobody was killed though eight injuries were reported.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at www.weathernow24.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky,X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
