A severe thunderstorm in Oklahoma | |
Type: | Unknown |
Active: | March 2 - March 8, 2017 |
Duration of tornado outbreak1: | 5 days |
Maximum rated tornado2: | EF3+ tornado |
Highest winds | Unknown |
Tornadoes confirmed: | 5+ |
Damage: | Unkown |
Injuries: | Unknown |
Fatalities: | Unknown |
Areas affected: | Southern California, Northern Baja California, Arizona, Northwestern Sonora, Southern Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri |
1Time from first tornado to last tornado |
The Early March 2017 Tornado Sequence was a series of tornadoes that formed across multiple states from March 2 - March 8, 2017. However, this sequence was considerably smaller then other tornado sequences.
Meteorological History[]
On February 27, the extratropical remnants of Typhoon Muifa struck the Pacific Northwest, and gradually moved south towards Mexico. On March 1, the storm hit an area of warm air and high pressure, spawning severe thunderstorms. 16 hours later, in the morning of March 2, the thunderstorms dropped a few tornadoes. This trend continued as the storm moved East-Northeast over the next few days. Along with multiple tornadoes, large hail up to 4.5 inches in diameter and winds gusting to 85 mph struck the Southwest and southern Plains. The storms met their height over Texas, then rapidly weakened as they moved into Kansas and Missouri. However, despite not being as severe, heavy rains caused major flooding in parts of Missouri, with some flood waters lingering for several days. Then, on March 8, the storms became not but a rainstorm over eastern Missouri early that morning.
Tornadoes[]
Main Article: List of tornadoes in the Early March 2017 Tornado Sequence
Notable Tornadoes[]
EF4 tornado (NWS) | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
Duration | 4:42 PM (Local Time) – 5:14 PM (Local Time) | ||
Intensity | 295 km/h (185 mph) (1-min) |
San Luis Rio Colorado Tornado[]
At 4:42 PM, a supercell spawned a very large tornado near the small town of Hermosillo, Baja California. It grew in size and strength until it struck the city of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora. Within mere minutes, half of the city of 169,000 was destroyed. Rows and rows of houses were swept away. A restaurant was completely destroyed, and multiple gas stations were mangled. The original rating was EF5, but due to the quality of the buildings construction, was downgraded to very high-end EF4. Overall, the tornado killed 47 people, injured 53,921, and caused $950 million in damages. The tornado remains the strongest and deadliest ever recorded in Mexico's history.