The outbreak, described by research sources as the largest on record for March, produced 96 tornadoes reported on Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. Missouri had the highest death toll with 12 dead, research sources reported. The storms affected a broad swath of the country, with fatalities confirmed in Michigan, Oklahoma, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, and other states.
In Michigan, three people were killed in Branch County due to tornadoes, the Branch County Sheriff's Office confirmed. A tornado hit Union City, causing three deaths and 12 injuries, according to the same office. The Cass County Sheriff's Office reported that a 12-year-old boy named Silas Anderson was killed in Edwardsburg on Friday. One person died in Cass County, according to the local sheriff, who also reported several injured in the county. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer activated the state's Emergency Operations Center, and Cass County Board Chair Jeremiah Jones declared a local state of emergency. In Oklahoma, a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were killed in Fairview after their car was sucked into a tornado, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Two people were killed in Beggs, Oklahoma, major media sources reported. At least two people were killed in Newton County, Indiana, including an elderly couple, according to Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran. A tornado in Lake Village, Indiana, killed an elderly couple and injured fewer than 10 people, according to Laurie Postma of the Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Wildfires and dust storms added to the devastation. One person died in a wind-driven wildfire in Arthur County, Nebraska, according to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane-force winds in Texas and Oklahoma led to wildfires; at least 130 wildfires were reported in Oklahoma by Friday, research sources said. In Kansas, eight people died in a 70-vehicle pileup during a dust storm on Friday, research sources reported.
Power outages and infrastructure damage were widespread. Nearly 450,000 customers were without power in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan on Saturday, according to PowerOutage.us. At the storm's peak, over 140,000 homes and businesses lost power; over 20,000 were still without power as of Monday, research sources reported.
Governors of Arkansas, Georgia, and Oklahoma declared states of emergency, research sources said. President Donald Trump said the National Guard had been deployed to Arkansas and his administration is ready to assist. Cleanup efforts have started in several US states after the storms, research sources reported.
The outbreak included multiple strong tornadoes, including an EF4 in Arkansas and an EF4 in Mississippi, according to research sources. Two powerful tornadoes formed concurrently on the Louisiana-Mississippi border, killing three in Tylertown, Mississippi, research sources said. A six-inch diameter hailstone in Kankakee, Illinois, may have set a new state record, according to the National Weather Service. The severe weather threat on Friday was at Level 3 out of 5, with risks of tornadoes, hail, and hurricane-force winds, according to AccuWeather. The Storm Prediction Center issued a moderate risk for severe weather on March 14 for parts of the Midwest and Southeast, and a high risk area was issued for portions of Mississippi and Alabama on March 14, the third ever Day 2 high risk. Worldwide, at least 105 tornado-related deaths have been confirmed in 2025, with 68 in the United States, research sources reported. 2025 featured the first EF5 tornado since 2013, near Enderlin, North Dakota on June 20, and had the most violent tornadoes in a year since 2013, with eight (E)F4+ tornadoes worldwide, according to research sources.
A severe weather outbreak is forecast for Monday, March 17, across the Upper Midwest and Central Plains, with strong tornadoes possible, according to research sources. The greatest threat is from southern Minnesota, western Wisconsin, to Iowa, northern Missouri, and eastern Kansas. Tornadoes, some strong (EF2+), large hail, and damaging winds are primary threats. The National Weather Service planned to send a damage survey crew to Oklahoma to confirm tornadoes.
Several uncertainties remain. The exact total death toll from the entire severe weather outbreak across all states has not been confirmed. The number of tornadoes that actually touched down and were confirmed by the National Weather Service is still pending. The full extent of property damage and economic losses is unknown. It is unclear whether the March 13-16 outbreak and the March 17 forecast are separate events or part of the same system. The status of missing persons and the number of injuries across all affected areas have not been fully reported.