Over Two Dozen Tornadoes From Texas To The Midwest, Including Deadly Michigan, Oklahoma Twisters (RECAP)

Scenes From Deadly Midwest Tornadoes

A severe weather outbreak brought deadly, strong tornadoes, damaging winds and hail to parts of the central and eastern U.S. during the first full week of meteorological spring, with storms wrapping up by early March 8.

The National Weather Service confirmed 26 tornadoes touched down from Texas to Michigan. Thirteen tornadoes tore through parts of Oklahoma while four touched down in Michigan. Four tornadoes were killer tornadoes, claiming a total of eight lives. Another 27 people were injured in the tornadoes in Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas.

There were also a combined 204 reports of large hail, strong thunderstorm winds or wind damage in the outbreak.

Tornado Recap

March 5

Six tornadoes touched down in the eastern Texas Panhandle, northwest Oklahoma and southern Kansas late on the night of March 5.

One large EF2 tornado claimed two lives in northwest Oklahoma when their vehicle was hit that night. Peak winds were estimated to be between 115 and 120 mph.

An EF2 tornado struck near Helena, with estimated peak winds between 110 and 115 mph. Damage was reported by spotters near Orienta, where later the National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 95 to 100 mph.

An EF1 was also reported south of Wakita, Oklahoma, with estimated winds of 100 mph. The National Weather Service in Wichita reported two EF1 tornadoes in their area so far on the night of March 5.

Hail up to the size of hen eggs — 2.25 inches in diameter — was reported in Hall County, Texas.

March 6

Southern Michigan was hit especially hard on March 6, as a single supercell thunderstorm spawned four tornadoes that afternoon.

The most intense of these was an EF3 tornado that touched down near Union Lake just after 3:30 p.m., then tracked into Union City, Michigan. Estimated peak winds were 160 mph. There were three fatalities and 12 people injured. This tornado pulled chunks of ice from Union Lake and also picked up a mobile home and threw it 100 yards, killing the occupant.

According to the National Weather Service, this was the earliest in any year a 3+ rated Michigan tornado was documented, nine days earlier in the year than the March 15, 2012 EF3 near Ann Arbor. It also was Michigan's most intense tornado in almost 49 years, since an F4 tore through parts of Eaton and Kalamazoo Counties on April 2, 1977.

In Oklahoma, an EF3 tornado hit Beggs with estimated peak winds of 135 to 140 mph, killing two and injuring two others. An EF2 tornado hit Collinsville with estimated peak winds of 135 mph. One home was destroyed and several others damaged. Seven other EF0 or EF1 tornadoes were documented, including a pair in parts of Tulsa County.

An 81 mph wind gust was reported in McDonald County, Missouri, as well as tennis ball-sized hail — 2.5 inches in diameter — in Thayer County and Cedar County, Nebraska.

March 7

The tornado threat diminished on March 7, but there were still some tornadoes confirmed.

The National Weather Service in Shreveport reported two EF2 tornadoes early that morning: one in Prospect, Texas and another in Willisville, Arkansas. There were three injuries between these two tornadoes.

However, wind and hail remained more powerful.

There were 100 reports of thunderstorm wind damage or high winds, with the highest being a gust of 70 mph reported in Hinds County, Mississippi.

The most impressive hail report was softball-sized hail — 4.50 inches in diameter — that came out of Starr County, Texas.

The storm report discusses that the awning of an Exxon gas station collapsed onto the ground and onto a vehicle. Starr County Sheriff's Office reported a roof blown off a residence or collapsed on Zinnia Street in Roma due to severe thunderstorm winds.

How Much Rain?

Water rescues were needed on flooded roads on the south side of the Dallas metro on March 4. At least several inches of water impacted some homes and businesses in Millville, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, that day. Several buildings were flooded in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, early March 5.

Flooding continued on March 6 and 7 as slow-moving storms continued to train over many of the same areas. Numerous daily rainfall records were broken across the region, and storm totals of 4-8 inches occurred.

Rob Shackelford is a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.