Third March Severe Weather Outbreak Now Targeting the East Coast

The active and unrelenting March severe weather pattern has made good on its latest promise. After sweeping through the South and Midwest over the weekend, the third major severe weather outbreak of the month has now turned its full attention toward the East Coast on Monday, bringing a dangerous combination of destructive winds, large hail, and tornadoes to millions of Americans.

Third Severe Weather Outbreak of the Month Now Underway

The wild March weather pattern has shown no sign of letting up as yet another severe weather outbreak tears through the country. This potent storm system is riding on the warm flank of the same sprawling complex that has buried the the Upper Midwest in blizzard conditions. A major storm that has already impacted well over 200 million Americans in recent days.

The first blow landed Sunday, as a powerful squall line raced eastward from the Gulf Coast all the way to the Great Lakes, generating wind gusts of up to 80 mph in spots. The Storm Prediction Center confirmed at least one tornado near Humphrey in Arkansas County, Arkansas, and logged more than 200 reports of damaging wind gusts from Texas to Ohio. Tennis ball-sized hail was also reported across east Texas. The cold front subsequently swept through St. Louis, Memphis, and the Ohio Valley overnight, sending temperatures that had climbed into the mid- and upper-70s plummeting into the upper 20s and low 30s by morning.

The main event is now bearing down on the East Coast. The SPC has issued a Moderate Risk — a Level 4 of 5 — for severe thunderstorms spanning from South Carolina through North Carolina, Virginia, and into Maryland, placing nearly 13 million residents under the highest-tier warning zone. A Level 3 of 5 risk stretches from Georgia into Pennsylvania and New Jersey, keeping another 25 million or more on high alert.