Tornado outbreak of March 24–27, 2023
Map of tornado warnings and confirmed tornadoes from the outbreak | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 24–27, 2023 |
| Tornado outbreak | |
| Tornadoes | 35 |
| Maximum rating | EF4 tornado |
| Highest winds | Tornadic – 195 mph (314 km/h) (Rolling Fork, Mississippi EF4 on March 24) |
| Highest gusts | Non-tornadic – 85 mph (137 km/h) (Wears Valley, Tennessee straight-line winds on March 25) Estimated non-tornadic – 88 mph (142 km/h) (Florence, Alabama straight-line winds on March 24) |
| Winter storm | |
| Largest hail | 2.75 in (7.0 cm) Burkburnett, Texas on March 23; multiple places in Alabama on March 25; multiple places across Mississippi and Georgia on March 26 |
| Maximum snowfall or ice accretion | 20 in (51 cm) Menasha, Wisconsin |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 23 fatalities (+2 non-tornadic) 236 injuries |
| Damage | $1.9 billion |
| Areas affected | Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia |
| Power outages | ≥80,000 |
Part of the tornado outbreaks of 2023 and 2022–23 North American winter | |
On March 24, 2023, a severe weather and tornado outbreak began across portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley in the United States. A slow-moving trough moved eastward across the United States and interacted with a moist and unstable airmass originating from the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in widespread heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms, and significant tornadoes over a four-day period. A violent high-end EF4 tornado moved through the towns of Rolling Fork, Midnight, and Silver City in western Mississippi, causing catastrophic damage and many fatalities. Multiple tornado emergencies were issued for that tornado and two subsequent EF3 tornadoes from the same supercell that struck Winona and Amory.
Severe weather and tornadic activity continued into the early morning hours of March 25, as a squall line of severe storms with embedded circulations moved eastward across Tennessee and Alabama. A low-end EF2 tornado within the line killed a person in the northern part of Hartselle, Alabama. The slow-moving storm system then stalled the following day, producing more severe weather and tornadoes across portions of Alabama and Georgia from March 26 to March 27, including a couple of strong tornadoes. The outbreak also resulted in numerous reports of damaging straight-line winds, hail, and flooding.