Newest on twister alerts, journey delays

This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/03/16/severe-weather-storms-tornadoes-forecast-updates/89176299007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us


play

Powerful thunderstorms are barreling throughout the jap United States, grounding flights, knocking out energy and prompting twister advisories as forecasters warn of worsening circumstances.

More than 94 million individuals within the jap half of the nation have been below extreme climate alerts from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

Potent thunderstorms have been anticipated from Florida to New York, with the very best threat of hurricane-force winds and tornadoes concentrated within the Mid-Atlantic area, together with Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

“During the storm, stay inside,” mentioned Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser at a information convention, warning residents to hunt shelter in the event that they obtain a twister warning. She added it might take “several days or longer to get back to normal” if the storms trigger vital harm.

Federal forecasters mentioned the worst impacts will happen by means of the afternoon and into the night. By 1 p.m., the storms had already prompted 1000’s of flight cancellations, a whole lot of 1000’s of energy outages and widespread faculty closures.

Some 360,000 individuals within the U.S. have been with out energy early Monday night, based on USA TODAY’s Power Outage Tracker.

Nearly a 3rd of the individuals, round 118,000, have been in Michigan, the place the northern half of the state was being hit with blizzard circumstances. Over 2% of shoppers within the state have been with out energy.

Up to 5 inches of snow and wind gusts as excessive as 45 mph have been anticipated in parts of Eastern Upper Michigan and Northern Lower Michigan, based on the NWS.

DC-area NWS forecasters late Monday afternoon canceled a twister look ahead to the realm, although they warned of doubtless damaging winds and temperature drops of as much as 30 levels in a single day. 

Forecasters mentioned excessive winds and thunderstorms remained potential till 10 p.m. native time. 

The easing of the forecast comes after many schools within the space have been closed or dismissed early and after federal workplaces closed early. 

On the opposite facet of the nation, southeast California and southern Arizona expect record-breaking warmth, based on forecasters.

Temperatures are anticipated to rise as much as 109 levels within the area going through the acute warmth, based on NWS forecasts. The warmth spell is anticipated to start Wednesday in California and Thursday in Arizona, ending Sunday.

According to NWS forecasters in Phoenix, the climate ought to really feel “equivalent to June’s normal temperatures,” and every day data might be damaged by round 10 levels.

The excessive warmth warning is among the many earliest on file, based on the NWS.

The National Weather Service issued a “moderate” Level 4 out of 5 threat for thunderstorms throughout a swath of the East Coast, from Washington to northern South Carolina.

Such threat assessments are uncommon within the Mid-Atlantic area, and sometimes solely occur two or 3 times per decade, based on the Capital Weather Gang.

There are an estimated 9 million individuals within the highest threat space related to Monday’s storms, based on the Storm Prediction Center.

“Multiple rounds of severe storms through this evening will yield potential for scattered to widespread damaging winds and a few strong tornadoes from the Carolinas into the Mid-Atlantic States,” the middle mentioned in an outlook.

The wild swings of climate the central and jap United States has endured lately – from blizzards and bitter chilly to extreme thunderstorms and near-record heat – are typical for March because the seasons transition from winter to spring, forecasters mentioned.

“Wide temperature swings are normal as you get into meteorological spring, which starts on March 1,” mentioned AccuWeather senior meteorologist Courtney Travis in an e-mail to USA TODAY. “It’s during this time that you’ll start to see enough warm and cold air present in North America to get those larger temperature changes.”

No different month experiences such dramatic temperature swings, and these wild fluctuations aren’t random chaos. They’re the results of two essentially completely different air lots preventing for management whereas neither has a transparent benefit, based on weather-daily.com. Read extra.

– Doyle Rice

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Monday mentioned the state’s Emergency Response Team has been activated to take care of requires service as storms carry heavy rain and hurricane-force winds to the state.

“North Carolina, severe storms are moving across the state, bringing strong winds up to 74 mph and a chance of tornadoes and hail,” Stein said on X. “The State Emergency Response Team is activated and ready to respond to any needs. Please make sure your emergency alerts are turned on and have a plan about where you’ll go if you need to take shelter.”

The Washington Monument will shut at 1 p.m. on Monday “due to anticipated weather conditions,” the U.S. Park Police introduced.

Officials can even shut Hains Point, a peninsula within the Potomac River that is standard for recreation, within the early afternoon.

“Beware of possible flash flooding, standing water, strong wind, lightning and hail,” the Park Police said in a statement. “Slow down. Stay off the roads in bad weather, if possible.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday warned residents in Washington, D.C., of potential damaging winds and tornadoes as storms barrel by means of the Mid-Atlantic.

“What you need to know: 1. Tornado risk and damaging wind gusts of up to 80mph. 2. Heavy rain that could cause localized flooding. 3. Peak extreme weather 4-6PM,” Bowser said in a post on X.

Thousands of Americans are with out energy as extreme climate slams the jap half of the United States.

States within the Midwest and southern U.S. have been hit hardest by energy outages as of 10 a.m. ET on March 16, based on USA TODAY’s power outage tracker.

More than 131,000 outages have been reported in Michigan, whereas roughly 52,000 have been reported in Ohio. Towards the northeast, Pennsylvania has greater than 30,000 outages, and New York has about 21,000.

– Melina Khan

More than 3,000 flights nationwide have been canceled on Monday, based on FlightAware.

Most of the cancellations have been concentrated within the central and jap U.S., the place a large snowstorm and intensifying thunderstorms compelled floor stops at airports.

New York City’s two largest airports led the disruptions with a mixed 580 cancellations, adopted by Chicago O’Hare International Airport (450), Charlotte Douglas International Airport (348), and Orlando International Airport in Florida (279).

Tornado watches and warnings have been energetic from the Florida Panhandle to Virginia, as a big storm system started shifting throughout the jap U.S.

Around 10 a.m., the climate service workplace in Tallahassee issued a tornado warning, urging residents to “TAKE COVER” as meteorologists tracked a fast-moving storm within the space. An analogous warning was issued for elements of Patrick County, Virginia.

“Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows,” mentioned the climate service workplace in Blacksburg, Virginia. “If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”

The anticipated storms are associated to a chilly entrance stretching east from a robust winter storm bringing blizzard circumstances to the Great Lakes area.

The intense cyclone is anticipated to dump one other 8 to 10 inches of snow in Wisconsin and Michigan with as much as 18 inches in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, bringing the two-day snowfall totals within the area to 2 or 3 toes.

The winter storm knocked out energy to greater than 120,000 properties and companies in Michigan, based on a USA TODAY outage tracker.

Forecasters anticipated potent storms throughout elements of the Southeast, together with in states corresponding to Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Flash flooding is feasible in South Florida, the place greater than 5 inches of rain has fallen in elements of the Everglades, the climate service mentioned. Through the morning, rainfall charges of two to 4 inches an hour are potential, bringing an elevated threat of flash flooding.

Overnight, a number of buildings have been severely broken in Flaherty, Kentucky, with down bushes and energy traces, based on the climate service workplace in Louisville, Kentucky. In Sevier, Tennessee, wind gusts as excessive as 77 mph have been reported.

The extreme climate throughout the nation is producing some intense climate swings, from sweltering warmth within the Southwest to freezing temperatures within the Southeast.

This week, elements of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona have been below excessive warmth watches, with excessive temperatures 20 to 30 levels above regular for this time of 12 months.

“Dozens of daily high temperature records are expected, and many locations are likely to set both all-time high temperatures for March and their earliest 100 (degree) temperature on record,” the climate service mentioned.

Meanwhile, within the Southeast, states from Texas to Alabama to Georgia have been below freeze warnings as a chilly entrance moved by means of the area. Forecasters mentioned the plunging temperatures might tie or break every day low data for March.

Christopher Cann is a nationwide breaking information reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him through electronic mail at [email protected].


This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/03/16/severe-weather-storms-tornadoes-forecast-updates/89176299007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us