March Warmest on Record
April 10, 2012
March 2012 was the warmest March in the United States since record keeping began in 1895, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on April 9. The first quarter of 2012–January, February, and March–was the warmest ever recorded in the continental United States (not including Alaska and Hawaii). The average temperature was 42 °F (5.5 °C), 6 degrees Fahrenheit above the long-term average. The warm temperatures contributed to conditions favorable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, more than 220 tornadoes were reported in the United States in March.
A resident surveys the wreckage of a house blown off its foundation by a tornado. Most tornado damage is severe but localized. (AP Photo)
On March 2, for example, deadly storms blew across the Midwest and South, spawning dozens of tornadoes that left 40 people dead amid the rubble of destroyed buildings and overturned vehicles. The storms touched down in 9 states, killing 21 people in Kentucky, 13 in Indiana, 4 in Ohio, and 1 each in Alabama and Georgia. According to the National Weather Service, the four tornadoes that hit Kentucky with winds of up to 160 miles (358 kilometers) per hour were the worst in the region in 24 years. In Indiana, an EF-4 tornado–the second highest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale–slammed Henryville with winds of 175 miles (280 kilometers) per hour, then mowed over southeastern Indiana for more than 50 miles (80 kilometers). The March 2 storms resulted in the first billion-dollar disaster of 2012.
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