A mother and daughter were killed near Fairview, Oklahoma, after a tornado struck their vehicle near state highways 60 and 243 late on March 5, 2026, according to the Major County Sheriff’s Office. The fatalities were confirmed on March 6.
Multiple tornadoes were reported across parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas on March 5, 2026, as severe thunderstorms moved across the southern Plains. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) received at least seven tornado reports during the event, with storms causing localized damage and leaving more than 11 000 customers without power as of March 6, according to PowerOutage.US.
Severe thunderstorms capable of producing very large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes are forecast to develop across the Texas Panhandle, western Oklahoma, and southern Kansas late on March 5, 2026. The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued an Enhanced Risk for the region as atmospheric conditions become favorable for supercell development along a dryline during the late afternoon and evening.
A large marine heatwave has persisted along the U.S. West Coast since summer 2025, raising sea surface temperatures about 1.7–2.2°C (3–4°F) above average across parts of the Northeast Pacific. In a report published March 3, 2026, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries said this is only the third time in the observational record for the California Current ecosystem that such a large portion of coastal waters has remained anomalously warm for so long into winter without El Niño conditions.
Heavy rainfall on March 3, 2026, triggered a destructive volcanic mudflow on Mount Merapi’s Kali Senowo channel in Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, sweeping away at least three trucks and one car.
A blood moon total lunar eclipse occurring on March 3, 2026, will peak at 10:57 UTC, after the Moon enters totality at 10:29 UTC and remains fully immersed in Earth’s shadow for approximately 56 minutes. The event will be visible from much of Asia and Oceania, with live streams providing real-time views as totality unfolds.
A lifting frontal boundary draped from the southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic is producing a swath of mixed winter precipitation across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys on March 2, 2026, while setting the stage for isolated severe thunderstorms in Oklahoma and Kansas on March 3. Winter weather advisories are in effect from Indiana to Pennsylvania, with ice accretion possible across the higher terrain of the Appalachians, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Another warming of the Arctic stratosphere is now underway, with the polar vortex forecast to undergo a final split in March 2026. The zonal mean wind reversal around 60°N and 10 hPa is expected between February 28 and March 1, with its impacts propagating into the troposphere, likely shifting weather patterns over Europe and North America.
Tropical Cyclone Urmil formed on February 27, 2026, south of Vanuatu, prompting a Red Alert for Tafea Province as the system began strengthening over the region. At 09:00 UTC, Urmil had intensified to 102 km/h (63 mph) and was moving southeast at about 15 km/h (9 mph). The cyclone is forecast to strengthen further over open waters between Vanuatu and Fiji, potentially reaching Category 2 intensity.
Urmil is the first named storm of the 2025–26 South Pacific cyclone season. It set a new record as the latest-ever first named cyclone in the basin, surpassing Cyclone Bart, which was named on February 21, 2017.
A confirmed tornado touched down in Jefferson County, Alabama, on February 26, 2026, damaging multiple homes in the Pinson area. Severe thunderstorms moved across parts of northern and central Alabama, bringing strong winds and large hail to Jefferson, St. Clair, Blount, and Calhoun counties, along with strong, damaging winds.
