March Megastorm Threatens U.S. With Tornadoes, Blizzards And Wildfire Risk

The National Weather Service predicted extreme weather across a vast swath of the country with a population exceeding 100 million people.

A huge storm system crossing the U.S. threatens to unleash tornadoes Friday in the Mississippi Valley, blizzards in the northern Plains and dry, gusty conditions in Texas and Oklahoma that pose an extreme risk of wildfires.

The National Weather Service predicted extreme weather across a vast swath of the U.S. with a population exceeding 100 million people. Powerful winds gusting up to 80 mph (130 kph) were forecast from the Canadian line to the Rio Grande border with Mexico.

Forecasters say the severe storm threat will continue into the weekend, with a moderate chance of tornadoes and damaging winds pushing farther south Saturday to areas including New Orleans and Birmingham, Alabama. Heavy rain could bring flash flooding to some parts of the East Coast on Sunday.

Experts say it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March, when emerging spring warmth and lingering winter cold create big temperature differences for storms to thrive.

“If there’s a time of the year where a storm like this can deliver these coast-to-coast impacts, we are in it,” said Benjamin Reppert, a meteorologist at Penn State University.