AccuWeather Provides Most Advance Notice, Most Accurate and Earliest Warnings and Best Communication for March 14 and 15 Severe Weather Outbreak
AccuWeather customers and users were once again best prepared for life-threatening, damaging tornadoes. AccuWeather Storm Warning meteorologists exclusively issued numerous lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warnings with far more advance notice.
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These videos highlight just some of the mass destruction left behind by dozens of tornadoes across multiple states from March 14-16.
On March 14 and 15, severe thunderstorms resulted in over 800 reports of damaging wind, large hail and tornadoes across the Plains, Midwest and South. This severe weather outbreak which included dozens of tornadoes, many especially intense, was best forecast by AccuWeather.
• The most advance notice of the outbreak: two weeks ahead of time and one week ahead of all other known sources.
• The most accurate and timely warnings of tornadoes during the outbreak, including far more advance notice compared to the government’s National Weather Service (NWS) and all other known sources.
• The best communication of the forecast and impacts through specific, detailed language across AccuWeather forecast platforms.
From weeks ahead of the event to the minutes that mattered most when tornadoes were imminent, AccuWeather provided superior forecasts and warnings as well as more valuable and impactful descriptions to people, communities and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safer.
>>READ MORE: The EF Scale: What is it and how are tornadoes measured?
• AccuWeather customers and users were once again best prepared for life-threatening, damaging tornadoes. AccuWeather Storm Warning meteorologists exclusively issued numerous lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warnings with far more advance notice compared to the government’s NWS and all other known sources.â¯
• AccuWeather’s more advance warnings benefited AccuWeather For Business SkyGuard® customers and customers of the AccuWeather Premium+ feature in the AccuWeather app. Some of the many such examples include:
In Diaz, Arkansas
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 36 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF-4 tornado struck. The NWS and all other sources provided only seven minutes of advance notice.
• The particularly intense tornado, the first EF4 Arkansas tornado since Dec. 10, 2021, and likely the strongest Arkansas tornado since April 27, 2014, produced devastating peak winds of 190 mph and catastrophic damage to homes.
In Bakersfield, Missouri
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 38 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF-3 tornado struck. The NWS and all other known sources provided only eight minutes of advance notice.
>> LEARN MORE how to best protect your business with AccuWeather's SkyGuard Severe Weather Warnings
Near Orleans, Indiana
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 12 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck southwest of Orleans, Indiana, in the pre-dawn hours.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of the tornado which caused major damage to several homes. The NWS and all other known sources issued a tornado warning for this area only AFTER the tornado had been on the ground for three minutes.
In Wegan, Indiana
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 24 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a tornado struck Wegan, Indiana, resulting in significant damage to several buildings.
• As has been the case with many other situations, AccuWeather was the ONLY known source to provide advance notice of this pre-dawn damaging tornado with dangerous, swirling peak winds of 105 mph.
In Patmos, Arkansas
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, providing 11 minutes of advance notice BEFORE an EF-1 tornado struck, compared to only four minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
In Calamine, Arkansas
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 15 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only six minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
In New Burnside, Illinois
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 36 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only five minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
In Collins, Mississippi
• AccuWeather Expert Storm Warning Meteorologists issued a lifesaving SkyGuard® Tornado Warning, which exclusively provided 29 minutes of advance notice BEFORE a damaging tornado struck, compared to only nine minutes of advance notice provided by the NWS and all other known sources.
As a result, people and businesses relying on NWS warnings directly or all other known weather sources that simply distribute NWS tornado warnings would have had far less notice than that which was available from AccuWeather or, in several cases, NO NOTICE of the imminent life-threatening emergencies before the tornadoes touched down.
Government cell phone alerting (wireless emergency alerts) would not have been triggered, outdoor sirens would not have been activated, and other emergency notifications from other agencies may not have been issued, as those notification methods depend upon National Weather Service warnings. Only those systems based on AccuWeather Warnings, including National Weather Service warnings but supplemented by the expertise of AccuWeather's expert Storm Warning meteorologists, would have been activated.
AccuWeather provided two weeks of advance notice that severe thunderstorms were expected, which was at least one week ahead of any other known source.
On Feb. 28, 2025:
• Two weeks in advance of the severe weather outbreak and at least one week ahead of all other known sources, AccuWeather was the first known source to predict that “severe thunderstorms” could erupt across “east Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley, Tennessee Valley and Gulf States around March 13.” This is exactly what happened on March 14.
On March 5, 2025:
• Four days in advance of the NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and nine days ahead of the outbreak, AccuWeather was the first known source to predict a severe thunderstorm risk from Texas to Kentucky between March 13 and 15.
• AccuWeather was the first known source to predict a severe weather outbreak was possible, doing so on March 8, two days prior to the SPC and all other known sources.
• AccuWeather forecasts provided more specific details farther in advance than any other known source.
On March 8, 2025:
• AccuWeather: “A severe weather outbreak can span from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest late week and into the weekend.”
• SPC: “Confidence/predictability is too low to delineate severe probabilities at this time.”
• AccuWeather better conveyed that March 14 and 15 would be a significant two-day stretch of widespread severe thunderstorms.
On March 9, 2025:
• AccuWeather was first to issue a “moderate risk” (second risk level of 4) for March 14 and 15 whereas the SPC was predicting their lowest level of risk for those days.
On March 12, 2025:
• More than 24 hours in advance of the SPC, AccuWeather was first to raise the risk level to “high,” the second highest level for both Friday and Saturday. The SPC upgraded their forecast to “moderate,” their second highest risk level on March 13.
• AccuWeather’s forecast language was more specific and more detailed than other known sources, providing actionable information to users about the high-impact weather. Examples include:
• “Windy and dry conditions will bring a renewed fire threat, peaking late week.”
• “Tornado outbreak expected Saturday; have a plan in place to seek safe shelter.”
• “Strong winds and excessive dryness will lead to power outages and an extreme fire threat.”
• “Strong winds and dry conditions will result in a high fire threat and blowing dust.”
On March 8, 2025:
• AccuWeather was the only known source to use the following language across its forecast platforms including local city forecasts in the Plains, Midwest and South, notifying users of the upcoming high-impact weather.
• “An increasing fire risk later this week.”
• “Severe thunderstorms can threaten later this week.”
• “Gusty winds and excessively dry weather result in a high fire threat.”
More than 100 times every year, AccuWeather has been documented as providing more accurate, more advanced notifications of significant and extreme weather events that impact businesses and threaten the health, welfare and lives of individuals. AccuWeather has proven to be the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings.
These are additional examples of the many weather events where AccuWeather provided superior forecasts and impact descriptions to people, communities and businesses, helping them better prepare and stay safe.
Contact AccuWeather today to learn how AccuWeather's SkyGuard® Severe Weather Warnings can help your business better prepare for tornadoes and all severe weather threats.
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