March's Extreme Weather Reputation Includes Tornadoes, Winter Storms, Flooding

March’s Weather Madness

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March is when the atmosphere often battles between weather conditions that are typical of both winter and spring, which rarely means a calm and quiet month.

The result of the clashing seasons means that March often delivers a mix of tornadoes, winter storms, flooding rain, lingering cold, warm teases and strong winds.

H​ere's a rundown of what’s typical in the month.

Severe weather picks up: While severe weather can occur any time of year the ingredients align, March is when arctic fronts typically become less potent. This allows warm, humid air to surge northward more often ahead of vigorous jet stream disturbances swinging out of the West.

(​In Depth: March Begins The Annual Ramp Up Of Severe Weather)

The average tornado count in the United States more than doubles from February (40) to March (96), which illustrates how the ingredients needed to spawn severe storms come together more often by spring.

The tornado threat tends to be highest in March from the Southern Plains into the Tennessee Valley and Deep South. Central Florida can also be a tornado hot spot in March.

A windy month, too: Dozens of cities from New England to the Southeast, Midwest and Plains are typically at their windiest in March.

An energetic jet stream spinning up strong low-pressure systems tends to produce strong winds in both the storm's warm and cold sides in March.

(​MORE: How Spring 2025 Could Be Different)

Even with temperatures warming up, winter storms can still be strong in March.

Spring flooding: With warmer March temperatures comes the concern for spring flooding. This is often a problem in parts of the Ohio Valley, Mississippi Valley, Red River Valley (North Dakota and Minnesota) and parts of New England.

Several factors determine the severity of spring flooding: how deep the snowpack is, whether a sharp warm-up melts the snow too quickly, how saturated the ground was going into winter and how much rain or snow falls in spring.

O​n average, the most precipitation falls along the West Coast from Northern California into Washington, and in the high elevations of the Rockies, Cascades and Sierra. An area from the Deep South into the Ohio Valley, where we expect the most severe weather in March, also picks up heavier precipitation.

March freezes are common: With the exception of typically warm areas such as the Florida Peninsula, South Texas and the lower Colorado River Valley, at least one March freeze is typical for much of the Lower 48.

A majority of the U.S. has to wait until at least April for the last spring freeze.

The farther north you live, and the higher the elevation, the more likely you usually must wait until at least May before morning temperatures stay above freezing for the season.

Warm teases: In March, any warmth in the northern half of the country tends to be a tease.

We mentioned earlier the strong low-pressure systems that are notorious in March. Temperatures ahead of the cold front in these situations can spike into the 60s and 70s in parts of the Midwest and Northeast.

But just when you get used to nearly room temperature outdoors, a March cold front blasts through and it's back to the 30s and 40s for a couple of days.

W​hat about this spring? You can find our latest spring outlook here.