Replay · TO20250314
March 14–16, 2025 tornado outbreak: the story
Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC. Radar, severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, storm reports and ground stops, in order, with 882 links that show their evidence.
- 1,064 NWS warnings
- 1,521 storm reports
- 4 FAA airport programs
- 108 surveyed tornado tracks
- 882 rule-based links
- 177,283 customers out at the peak, in Missouri
- 331 radar frames
Chapter 1: First warnings
Mar 14–15
- NWS Springfield, MO issues the first Tornado Warning.Replay from here
- The largest hail reported: 2.75 in at 1 NNE Highlandville, MO.Replay from here
Chapter 2: Missouri
Mar 15
- The strongest tornado, an EF4, touches down: a 94 mi track.Replay from here
Chapter 3: Kentucky
Mar 15
- NWS Paducah, KY declares a tornado emergency.Replay from here
- Peak outages: 177,283 customers out of power in Missouri. The most in one county: St. Louis County, MO, 83,830 out (14% of its customers) at 04:45 UTC.Replay from here
Chapter 4: The Deep South
Mar 15–16
- The strongest measured gust: 94 mph at 2 WNW Sidon, MS.Replay from here
How we link records
| Rule | What it checks | Links |
|---|---|---|
| R4 solid | A storm report inside a warning polygon while it was in effect | 836 |
| R6 solid | A surveyed tornado track that began inside a Tornado Warning, with the warning's lead time | 40 |
| R2 dashed | An airport program inside a warning that had been in effect for over 60 min (context) | 1 |
| R1c solid | A weather airport program inside a convective warning or watch, within 60 min of issuance | 4 |
| R1o dashed | The same, for other hazards such as floods | 1 |
Solid lines mark rules that passed an independent check; dashed lines are context. Links are rule-based facts: each shows two records that overlap in place and time. How we know
Where this storm's data comes from
Every layer, the provider behind it and the period it covers.
| Layer | Provider | Period | Records |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRMS SeamlessHSR | NOAA/NSSL via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC | 331 |
| NWS storm-based warning polygons | NOAA National Weather Service via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC | 1,064 |
| NWS Local Storm Reports | NOAA National Weather Service via Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC | 1,521 |
| FAA airport programs (ground stops and ground delay programs) | FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center | Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC | 4 |
| ORNL EAGLE-I | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Mar 14, 22:00 UTC – Mar 16, 07:00 UTC | 1,085 |
- Radar: NOAA/NSSL MRMS SeamlessHSR, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM), Iowa State University
- Warnings: NOAA/NWS, storm-based polygons via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet
- Storm reports: NOAA/NWS Local Storm Reports via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet
- Airport programs: FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center
- Tornado tracks: NOAA/NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit damage surveys
- Power outages: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, EAGLE-I (CC BY 4.0)
- County boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau
