Over 70 Tornadoes Confirmed, Over 1,000 Severe Reports in February 28-March 1, 2017 Severe Weather Outbreak (RECAP)

More than 70 tornadoes and just over 1,000 total reports of severe weather tore through parts of the Midwest, South and East from February 28 through March 1, 2017, in what was the largest severe weather outbreak since the late spring 2011.

National Weather Service surveys have confirmed 72 tornadoes occurred in 11 states from Kansas and Iowa to Michigan to Tennessee during the outbreak.

(MORE: March's Typical Tornado Risk | Tornado Central)

One EF4 tornado tore a roughly 50-mile path through southeast Missouri and southern Illinois, striking just north of Perryville, Missouri, about 65 miles south-southeast of St. Louis, around 9 p.m. CST on February 28.

This was the first violent (EF4 or stronger) tornado of 2017. Peak winds were estimated by an NWS-Paducah damage survey of 180 mph. 

Aerial footage shows some homes simply a pile of rubble and vehicles tossed. Five homes were leveled in Perry County, Missouri. The damage survey found evidence of multiple vortices as the tornado neared the Mississippi River. More homes were destroyed in Jackson and Franklin Counties in southern Illinois.

On the ground for 1 hour and 2 minutes, this was the longest-track tornado in the forecast area covered by NWS-Paducah in over 35 years, since another F4 tornado on April 22, 1981.

Tracking for about 44 miles, a second long-track EF3 tornado spun from far southeast Illinois near the town of Carmi to near the southwest Indiana town of Oakland City. About 150 structures were either damaged or destroyed in White, Posey, and Gibson Counties, according to NWS-Paducah.

These two tracks could be the longest in the the NWS-Paducah forecast area since the mid-1990s.

Interestingly, these tornadoes occurred near the path of the infamous Tri-State Torrnado of March 18, 1925, the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history. One home near Crossville, Illinois, was damaged both in the Tri-State tornado and again on February 28, 2017. 

Other EF3 tornadoes were confirmed in Naplate and Ottawa, Illinois and near Washburn and Rutland, Illinois. One home in Naplate was lifted off its foundation, left with only its interior walls intact, according to a NWS-Chicago storm survey.

(NEWS: Tornadoes Confirmed in Midwest; At Least 4 Killed)

Three tornadoes in southern Michigan were the first February tornadoes in that state since exactly 43 years prior, on February 28, 1974, which had been the state's only February tornado of record dating to 1950.

The following day, tornadoes were spawned mainly embedded in an expansive squall line from Ohio to Kentucky, Tennessee and north Georgia.

Below is a summary of all the tornadoes confirmed by the National Weather Service:

• Arkansas (8 tornadoes): Higginson (EF1), Kensett (EF2), NE Conway #1 (EF1), NE Conway #2 (EF0), Diaz (EF1), Possum Grape (EF1), Lamar/SE Johnson county (EF1), Crossroads/Cleburne (EF1)
• Georgia (1 tornado): Chatsworth (EF1)
• Illinois (17 tornadoes, not including Perryville, Missouri, tornado track): Castleton-Bradford (EF1), Cedar Point (EF0), Marseilles (EF1), Naplate-Ottawa (EF3), Washburn/Rutland (EF3), Seneca (EF0), Daysville (EF1), Coleta (EF1), Versailles (EF1), north of Peoria (EF0), Rome (EF0), near Cherry (EF1), Long Point (EF2), near Carmi to near Oakland City, IN (EF3; 44 miles), Carbondale/Jackson County, IL (EF0), Williamson County, IL (EF1), Bradford/Bureau county (EF1)
• Indiana (10 tornadoes; not including Carmi, Illinois, long-track): Ireland (EF2), Near Mitchell/Lawrence county (EF2), Scott county (EF1), Washington #1 (EF2), Montgomery #1 (EF1), Montgomery #2 (EF2), Montgomery #3 (EF1), Clark/Borden (EF1), Orange county/Leipsic (EF1), Washington county #2/Saltillo (EF1)
• Iowa (1 tornado): Near Follets (EF0);
• Kansas (2 tornadoes): Hepler (EF1), Farlington (EF0)
• Kentucky (7 tornadoes): Boydsville-Lynn Grove (EF0), Linton, (EF1), Warren County (EF1), Butler County (EF1), Henry County (EF1), Logan County (EF1), Trigg County (EF1), Cuba/Graves county (EF2)
• Michigan (4 tornadoes): Niles (EF1), Dowagiac (EF1), and Vandalia (EF1), Centerville (EF1)
• Missouri (6 tornadoes): Perryville (EF4) to SW of Christopher IL (~ 50 mile path), Lebanon (EF1), Lesterville (EF1), Sikeston-Anniston (EF1), Fredericktown (EF0), Buffalo (EF0)
• Ohio (7 tornadoes): Amelia (EF1); Waverly/Pike county (EF1); Anderson Township (EF0), Leesburg (EF0), Greenfield (EF0), New Market (EF1), Langsville/Meigs county (EF1)
• Tennessee (8 tornadoes): Dyersburg (EF0), northern Lavergne (EF0), west of Watertown (EF0), Williamson county (EF1), Near Watertown (EF1), Hickman (EF1), Putnam county/Baxter (EF1), Putnam county/Monterey (EF1)

In addition to the tornadoes, there were roughly 692 reports of thunderstorm wind damage or high thunderstorm winds, and another 258 reports of large hail.

Together with the confirmed tornado count, the 1,038 severe reports made this the most active 48-hour period for severe weather in the U.S. since May 25-26, 2011 tallied 1,323 severe reports.

Here are some of the notable thunderstorm wind reports:

• Quantico, Maryland: A 78-mph wind gust was recorded
• Dover Air Force Base, Delaware: 76-mph wind gust
• Williamson, West Virginia: Roof blown off home
• Oakland, Kentucky: Multiple structures damaged
• Paducah, Kentucky: Structural damage to the U.S. Bank and a church downtown; wind gust to 76 mph
• Carrollton, Kentucky: Damage to warehouse and church roofs; "substantial damage" to a concrete building; gust to 79 mph measured
• Irvine, Kentucky: One two-story home lost its top story in severe straight-line winds
• Apple Grove, West Virginia: Trees down and mobile home damaged due to wind; possible tornado damage

If that wasn't enough, strong non-thunderstorm winds behind the cold front downed numerous trees and powerlines in the Northeast the following day, March 2.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Severe Weather Outbreak (Feb. 28 - Mar. 1)