The tri-state area was on the eastern edge of a large tornado outbreak that impacted numerous areas of central and south-central Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle. One EF3 tornado touched down in Washington County, FL, resulting in two fatalities.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS TAE wrote it up.
The tri-state area was on the eastern edge of a large tornado outbreak that impacted numerous areas of central and south-central Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle. One EF3 tornado touched down in Washington County, FL, resulting in two fatalities.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 30, 11:36 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
136 AM EDT Thu Mar 31 2022
.AVIATION...
[Through 06Z Friday]
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms will sweep across
the terminals through this morning. Preceding the storms,
expect LLWS, with cigs gradually lowering to MVFR/IFR. The
storms are expected to reach TLH 12-14z, and should be most
intense for terminals west of TLH, where gusts in excess
of 50 knots are possible. Expect a brief period of LIFR in
association with the storms. Outside of thunderstorms,
southerly winds gusting around 30 kts will veer to westerly
and gradually decrease with the passage of a cold front today.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION [907 PM EDT]...
.NEAR TERM [Through Thursday]...
A line of potent severe thunderstorms is now crossing the
Mississippi River into the state of MS. This line will reach NW
FL and SE AL during the overnight hours. When it reaches our
service area, this line will be moving into a weakly to moderately
unstable air mass. However, wind fields will be screaming, in
response to a deepening low center moving across the Mid-South and
Ohio Valley. 1000-500 mb bulk shear will run in the 50-70 knot
range. A southerly low- level jet of 50-60 knots will develop
after sunset, overtopped by SW 500 mb flow of 55-70 knots. The
strength of shear will really be incredible, and the overlap of
weather parameters favorable to tornadoes is substantial over our
Central Time Zone counties. The main line of storms will be
capable of embedded tornadoes, but any discrete thunder cells that
form in advance of the line will be capable of becoming powerful
supercell storms in their own respect.
Overall, the line of storms will lose its worst punch as it
crosses the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers around sunrise,
but some severe storms remain possible. Daytime heating on
Thursday could cause some re-formation of storms along the I-75
corridor in south Georgia around mid-day. Otherwise, the main line
will sag south through the southeast Big Bend in the afternoon.
Upper level support will be orphaning the storms at that point, so
weakening will continue for storms further south.
The SPC Moderate Risk now clips our far western counties, meaning
Coffee and Geneva in Alabama, and Walton, Holmes in Florida.
Enhanced Risk extends east to the near Chattahoochee and
Apalachicola Rivers. The recent Day 2 outlook update modestly
increased tornado probabilities into the Eastern Time Zone after
sunrise on Thursday morning.
Other concerns will be with high surf along the south-facing
coast. Swimmers, just stay out of the water. Surf heights around
10 feet are nothing to mess with.
Coastal flooding is a concern, with moderate coastal flooding
expected east of Apalachicola to the mouth of the Suwanee River.
See hydro section for more details.
In closing, folks in the Central Time Zone should ensure you have
a way to get warnings during the overnight hours tonight. Leave
your weather radio on, and/or leave off the Do Not Disturb feature
on your phone.
.SHORT TERM [Thursday Night Through Friday Night]...
The line of strong to severe thunderstorms will continue to track
east through our eastern counties into the SE Big Bend Thursday
night. The severe threat will diminish through the night Thursday
into Friday. The cold front behind the line of storms is expected to
slow as it makes its way through the SE Big Bend into the peninsula.
This will allow for showers to linger on Friday, mainly over the
marine areas. Low temperatures on Thursday night will mostly be
in the mid 50s, and low 50s in our GA and AL counties. But, highs
Friday will warm up to the low 70s in AL and GA, with mid- upper
70s for the FL panhandle and SE Big Bend. Precip Thursday night
will have moved to the SE Big Bend, where PoPs max at 70% in the
extreme SE Big Bend but being less than 20% from Tallahassee to
Valdosta line and west/northwest.
.LONG TERM [Saturday Through Wednesday]...
We will be in between major systems this weekend, allowing for
more benign weather. A few shortwave troughs will be passing
through which may allow for showers to develop, mainly south of
I-10. Mid and upper level ridging will build for Sunday and
Monday. Our next storm system will develop ahead of an upper level
shortwave trough Tuesday and push into our region through the end
of the Long Term. Forecast certainty is only medium at this point
given that it's a week away.
We can expect a gradual warming into the upper 70s/low 80s over the
weekend into the start of the work week. PoPs will be higher this
weekend ranging from 30% around I-10 and increasing to 60% over our
marine zones for Saturday. It will clear out to the east through the
day on Sunday. Moisture return will begin to increase Monday evening
into Tuesday. PoPs begin to increase Monday evening with a 70%
chance for most of the Tri-State region Tuesday through Wednesday.
.MARINE...
Buoy 42039 has recently been gusting over gale-force, and Buoy
42036 saw its seas rise quickly to 8 feet. Conditions are
currently deteriorating over the waters.
Southerly breezes will continue to strengthen through
tonight, reaching near-gale levels with frequent gale-force
gusts. Significant wave heights will peak at over 12 feet west of
Apalachicola. A intense squall line of thunderstorms will cross
the waters late tonight and Thursday morning, followed by a cold
frontal passage on Thursday afternoon and evening. The front will
then stall south of the waters this weekend, and a weak wave of
low pressure will ride east across the Gulf on Saturday.
.FIRE WEATHER...
With windy conditions still in place tonight, avoid those back
yard burns until after it rains early Thursday.
Late tonight and Thursday, an intense line of thunderstorms will
cross the districts, likely producing some wind damage. The
greatest risk of downed trees will be over Southeast Alabama and
Northwest Florida. A widespread wetting rain is also expected.
A slow-moving cold front will cross the districts on Thursday. RH
values are only expected to drop into the 40-50% range behind the
front on Thursday and into the 30-40% range on Friday. Winds will
become more manageable on Friday and through the weekend behind
the cold front areawide.
.HYDROLOGY...
Moderate coastal flooding is expected through Thursday east of
Apalachicola, while minor coastal flooding is expected from
Apalachicola westward.
The strong ongoing southerly winds will continue into early
Thursday, pushing water into Apalachee Bay. Peak water levels are
expected with the overnight high tide around 2-4 am ET Thursday
and again between 2-4pm ET Thursday afternoon. Model guidance
suggests the potential of 2-4 feet above mean higher high water,
which is a good approximation of inundation along the immediate
coast. In fact, the 12z PETSS guidance favors inundation of MHHW
of greater than 3 feet inundation at the head of the bay.
Approaching storm system is expected to move through the region
late tonight and into Thursday. The heaviest precipitation is
expected to be across southeast Alabama and Northwest Florida.
Even so, this system is expected to be moving fairly quickly,
limiting widespread rainfall totals to 1-2 inches, with isolated
heavier amounts near 4 inches possible. Given recent wet
conditions some isolated flash flooding is possible, but these
amounts are unlikely to lead to riverine flooding.
Later this weekend a secondary wave of low pressure will develop
along the stalled frontal boundary in the Gulf. This system could
lead to some rainfall, mainly south of I-10. However, the odds of
heavy rainfall are decreasing.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation is not requested. However, spotters are always
encouraged to safely report significant weather conditions when they
occur (while following all local, state, and CDC guidelines) by
calling the office or tweeting us @NWSTallahassee.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Tallahassee 78 54 77 51 79 / 90 10 0 10 40
Panama City 75 56 74 55 74 / 70 0 0 10 40
Dothan 78 49 72 48 75 / 30 0 0 0 20
Albany 79 51 74 48 77 / 90 0 0 0 20
Valdosta 77 55 76 51 79 / 90 10 0 0 30
Cross City 79 60 79 55 78 / 80 50 10 10 50
Apalachicola 74 57 74 56 73 / 90 10 0 10 50
&&
.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...Coastal Flood Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for Coastal
Dixie-Coastal Franklin-Coastal Jefferson-Coastal Taylor-
Coastal Wakulla.
Wind Advisory until 8 AM EDT /7 AM CDT/ this morning for Calhoun-
Central Walton-Coastal Bay-Coastal Franklin-Coastal Gulf-
Coastal Jefferson-Coastal Wakulla-Gadsden-Holmes-Inland Bay-
Inland Franklin-Inland Gulf-Inland Jefferson-Inland Wakulla-
Jackson-Leon-Liberty-North Walton-South Walton-Washington.
High Rip Current Risk through Saturday evening for Coastal Bay-
Coastal Franklin-Coastal Gulf-South Walton.
High Surf Advisory until 2 AM EDT /1 AM CDT/ Friday for Coastal
Bay-Coastal Franklin-Coastal Gulf-South Walton.
Coastal Flood Advisory until 2 PM EDT /1 PM CDT/ this afternoon
for Coastal Bay-Coastal Gulf-South Walton.
GA...Wind Advisory until 8 AM EDT this morning for Baker-Ben Hill-
Berrien-Brooks-Calhoun-Clay-Colquitt-Cook-Decatur-Dougherty-
Early-Grady-Irwin-Lee-Miller-Mitchell-Quitman-Randolph-
Seminole-Terrell-Thomas-Tift-Turner-Worth.
AL...Wind Advisory until 7 AM CDT this morning for Coffee-Dale-Geneva-
Henry-Houston.
GM...Gale Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for Apalachee Bay or
Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River FL
out to 20 Nm-Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to
Apalachicola Fl out to 20 Nm-Coastal waters from Suwannee
River to Keaton Beach FL out 20 NM-Waters from Suwannee
River to Apalachicola FL from 20 to 60 NM.
Gale Warning until 1 PM CDT this afternoon for Coastal waters
from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola FL out 20 NM-Coastal
waters from Mexico Beach to Okaloosa Walton County Line FL
out 20 NM-Waters from Apalachicola to Mexico Beach FL from
20 to 60 NM-Waters from Mexico Beach to Okaloosa Walton
County Line FL from 20 to 60 NM.
&&
NEAR TERM...Haner
SHORT TERM...Montgomery
LONG TERM...Montgomery
AVIATION...LF
MARINE...Haner
FIRE WEATHER...Haner
HYDROLOGY...HanerThe Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:50 UTC.
12 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree fell on a structure in the Paxton area.
Isolated trees and power lines were blown down.
An EF-3 tornado tracked through Washington County into Jackson County Florida during the early morning hours of Thursday, March 31, 2022. The tornado began near Roland Rd and Ovid Ln in Washington County where it snapped tree trunks as it moved northeastward. The tornado crossed Orange Hill Rd and continued on to Gilberts Mill Rd. On Gilberts Mill Rd near Stewart Rd, a barn was destroyed and a manufactured home was damaged and shifted on its foundation, which is in line with EF-1 damage. Snapped and uprooted trees were observed all along Gilberts Mill Rd. Further northeast, a manufactured home sustained significant damage and several outbuildings were destroyed. A camper and a greenhouse were also destroyed here, consistent with EF-1 damage. The tornado strengthened as it continued northeastward along Gilberts Mill Rd before completely destroying and sweeping away an anchored double wide manufactured home and a newer, anchored single wide home. The double wide home was the site of the two fatalities, and one person in the single wide was injured when he was thrown into the tree line grasping his mattress. Several projectiles were driven into the ground at this location. A large boat was also thrown from its trailer and overturned. Damage at this location was consistent with strong EF-2 winds. The tornado continued to strengthen as it moved across Jewel Rd and at that location, a well-built brick home was partially destroyed and likely was sideswiped by the tornado. The end of the home that was hit sustained major collapse of roof and exterior brick walls as well as a generator ripped from its anchoring and thrown across a field. The other end of the home was less severely damaged but still suffered major roof loss. A car in the driveway was pushed off of the driveway, and an attached carport was destroyed. Across the street, a wood frame home with block foundation was completely destroyed and swept from the foundation, leaving only some cinder blocks and a floor joist. The debris from the house was thrown into a pole barn which was also destroyed. An injury occurred at this site when the home occupant ran to the barn and dove under his pickup truck. The damage to this home and the brick home are consistent with EF3 damage and maximum winds of 150 mph. The tornado weakened some as it moved northeast, inflicting roof damage to a home and damage to out buildings along Archie Sapp Rd. On Syfrett Rd, several sheds and outbuildings were destroyed, a single wide manufactured home was flipped onto its side, and a brick home sustained major roof damage. This damage along Archie Sapp Rd and Syfrett Rd are consistent with EF1 damage. The tornado snapped a couple of tree trunks along Dilmore Rd before lifting just south of Interstate 10 near Standland Rd.
An EF3 tornado tracked through Washington County into Jackson County Florida during the early morning hours of Thursday, March 31, 2022. The Jackson county portion of the tornado was rated as an EF1. The tornado began near Roland Rd and Ovid Ln in Washington County where it snapped tree trunks as it moved northeastward. The tornado crossed Orange Hill Rd and continued on to Gilberts Mill Rd. On Gilberts Mill Rd near Stewart Rd, a barn was destroyed and a manufactured home was damaged and shifted on its foundation, which is in line with EF-1 damage. Snapped and uprooted trees were observed all along Gilberts Mill Rd. Further northeast, a manufactured home sustained significant damage and several outbuildings were destroyed. A camper and a greenhouse were also destroyed here, consistent with EF-1 damage. The tornado strengthened as it continued northeastward along Gilberts Mill Rd before completely destroying and sweeping away an anchored double wide manufactured home and a newer, anchored single wide home. The double wide home was the site of the two fatalities, and one person in the single wide was injured when he was thrown into the tree line grasping his mattress. Several projectiles were driven into the ground at this location. A large boat was also thrown from its trailer and overturned. Damage at this location was consistent with strong EF-2 winds. The tornado continued to strengthen as it moved across Jewel Rd and at that location, a well-built brick home was partially destroyed and likely was sideswiped by the tornado. The end of the home that was hit sustained major collapse of roof and exterior brick walls as well as a generator ripped from its anchoring and thrown across a field. The other end of the home was less severely damaged but still suffered major roof loss. A car in the driveway was pushed off of the driveway, and an attached carport was destroyed. Across the street, a wood frame home with block foundation was completely destroyed and swept from the foundation, leaving only some cinder blocks and a floor joist. The debris from the house was thrown into a pole barn which was also destroyed. An injury occurred at this site when the home occupant ran to the barn and dove under his pickup truck. The damage to this home and the brick home are consistent with EF3 damage and maximum winds of 150 mph. The tornado weakened some as it moved northeast, inflicting roof damage to a home and damage to out buildings along Archie Sapp Rd. On Syfrett Rd, several sheds and outbuildings were destroyed, a single wide manufactured home was flipped onto its side, and a brick home sustained major roof damage. This damage along Archie Sapp Rd and Syfrett Rd are consistent with EF1 damage. The tornado snapped a couple of tree trunks along Dilmore Rd before lifting just south of Interstate 10 near Standland Rd.
A tractor trailer was forced off I-10 due to strong straight line winds. A small amount of diesel was spilled.
Trees were blown down in the Resota Beach area.
A power line was blown down on NW Osceola Lane.
Flash flooding was reported along Cherry St.
A tree approximately 14 inches in diameter was blown down near Whitehouse Road and Mamie Lane.
A tree was blown down on I-10 E at Thomasville Road.
Power lines and trees were blown down at Sunflower Road and Elgin Road.
Two trees were blown down on Coastal Highway.
A tree was blown down on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Road.
A tree was blown down on Provo Pl.
A tree was blown down onto Gossett Ln.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado, Washington | 2022-03-31 | Male | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct | |
| Tornado, Washington | 2022-03-31 | Female | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 2022Warnings in Florida, March 2022
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1011539, 1011540, 1011541, 1011568, 1011569, 1011542, 1011544, 1011545, 1011548, 1011549, 1011550, 1011551, 1011553, 1011554, 1011555, 1011556.