Spring Tornado Ramp-Up: What You Need To Know

Tornado Season Is About To Ramp Up

As we turn the calendar from February to March, a different weather threat typically fights to take center stage: tornadoes. And March is only the beginning.

The transition into meteorological spring marks a noticeable uptick in tornado activity that continues to dramatically increase as we move through the season. Let’s break it down.

(​MORE: Why Spring Is The Most Volatile Season)

Spring tornadoes by the numbers: On average, 104 twisters spin up across the U.S. in March, based on the most recent 20 years of data available. That is the fourth most of any month.

Yet, it still pales in comparison to the numbers seen in the typical peak months, April and May.

In April, we typically see just over 200 tornadoes, nearly double March’s average. And in the peak month of May, we see that number take another significant jump up to around 260 twisters on average.

M​arch tornadoes aren’t anything to be scoffed at: Last year may have been a quiet start to spring in terms of tornado count with only 67 confirmed twisters in March, but the three previous years (2021-2023) saw March counts that were extremely active.

-March 2021 - 138 tornadoes spun up across the U.S. according to the Storm Prediction Center. This included a devastating EF4 tornado that tore through Newnan, Georgia, leaving behind damage consistent with winds of up to 170 mph.

-​March 2022 - 234 tornadoes were documented in the U.S., the most for any March dating to 1950. That was largely from three separate outbreaks – March 5-6, March 21-22 and March 30-31.

In both 2022 and 2023, March had the most tornado fatalities of any month of the year, with 12 and 47 deaths respectively.

Some Marches have been much quieter: Similar to what we saw last year, some Marches start severe weather season off with a slow burn. From 2013 through 2015, no more than 20 tornadoes were documented in the entire month of March.

Those Marches each were generally colder than average in the central and eastern U.S., the opposite of the pattern most favorable for severe thunderstorms.

(15-min details: For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)

Where are the March tornadoes hotspots? Typically in March, the peak tornado threat is still in the South, from Alabama and Georgia westward into Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, northern Texas and Oklahoma.

The increased tornado risk also expands north and westward into the central Plains and Midwest as we progress through the month.

H​ere's what you can do to prepare: Don’t be caught off guard by the sudden ramp-up of the severe season as we move into spring - be weather-ready.

Now is the time to review or develop a severe weather plan. Know where to take shelter if you receive a tornado warning and have multiple ways of receiving warnings, including NOAA weather radio and a smartphone app.

C​aitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.