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Severe Outbreak Spawned Over 120 Tornadoes | Weather.com
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Tornado Central

Severe Outbreak Spawned Over 120 Tornadoes In Midwest, South and East

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At a Glance

  • A massive severe weather outbreak struck parts of the Midwest, South and East from March 31 - April 1, 2023.
  • Over 120 tornadoes were spawned, including several deadly twisters.
  • Just under 1,000 reports of severe weather (hail, high winds, tornadoes) were received from this outbreak.

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F​rom March 31 - April 1, a major tornado outbreak ripped through several states in the Midwest and South, then brought damaging winds and tornadoes to the Northeast.

The National Weather Service confirmed at least 123 tornadoes touched down in 14 states from Arkansas to Wisconsin to Delaware and New Jersey.

These are plots of both reports of, and confimed, tornadoes from the March 31 - April 1, 2023, outbreak.
(Data: NOAA/NWS/SPC)

A​ tornado early Friday afternoon tore through parts of the north and west side of the Little Rock, Arkansas, metro area. That prompted a rare tornado emergency just before staff at the NWS-Little Rock office was forced to seek shelter, themselves. Debris was thrown in the air and detected by radar. This tornado has preliminarily been rated EF3.

(​MORE: Live Updates, Damage, Impacts)

A strong tornado caused damage in Wynne, Arkansas, before moving eastward across I-55 and the Mississippi River into western Tennessee to the north of Millington. Two additional supercells moved from southeastern Arkansas into northwestern Mississippi, likely each producing a tornado.

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Several tornadoes have touched down in eastern Iowa, including near Iowa City. A pair of twin tornadoes was even spottedAt least one of the tornadoes, near Keota, Iowa, has been rated EF3.

A​ strong tornado developed Friday evening near Robinson, Illinois, then crossed the Indiana border into southwestern Indiana. Several other tornadoes tracked through Indiana, including in Frankfort.

An EF3 tornado touched down, killing 1, near Hazel Green in northern Alabama early on April 1.

Below are the latest severe weather reports received by the National Weather Service over the past 36 hours, including reports of tornadoes, damaging thunderstorm winds and large hail.

N​OAA's Storm Prediction Center had issued a rare 'high risk' severe weather forecast for this outbreak, the first such 'high risk' forecast they've issued since the March 25, 2021, tornado outbreak in the South.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

A house is damaged by fallen trees on West Hurlbut Avenue near where the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed during a tornado, Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Belvidere, Ill.  Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue. Responders also rescued someone from an elevator and had to deal with downed power lines outside the theater.(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
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A house is damaged by fallen trees on West Hurlbut Avenue near where the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed during a tornado, Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Belvidere, Ill. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the venue. Responders also rescued someone from an elevator and had to deal with downed power lines outside the theater.(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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