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 multi-day storm event is forecast to unfold across the central and southern United States, with the Storm Prediction Center issuing a slight to enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms across the Southern and Central Plains from March 4 to 6, 2026.
The Ranger Road Fire nearly doubled in size from 58 700 ha (145 000 acres) to over 114 650 ha (283 000 acres) within roughly 24 hours after ignition at 11:40 LT on February 17, 2026, when it crossed the Kansas–Oklahoma border. As of February 18, containment stood at 15% following rapid expansion driven by dry fuels and high winds. Authorities closed sections of Kansas highways 283, 160, and 183.
Multiple wildfires burning across Oklahoma have scorched over 62 720 ha (155 000 acres) as of February 18, 2026, prompting Governor Kevin Stitt to declare a State of Emergency in Beaver, Texas, and Woodward counties. The Ranger Road Fire alone burned approximately 58 700 ha (145 000 acres) across Oklahoma and southern Kansas, with 0% containment reported.
A fast-moving Ranger Road Fire ignited on February 17, 2026, in Beaver County, Oklahoma, and expanded into southern Kansas by February 18, burning approximately 58 700 ha (145 000 acres) within hours. The wildfire prompted mandatory evacuations in Clark County, Kansas, and injured at least four firefighters during suppression efforts.
A storm moving from the Southern Plains into the Southeast will generate widespread showers, locally heavy rainfall, and severe thunderstorms across the southern and eastern United States through February 16, 2026. Slight Risk areas for Severe Thunderstorms and Excessive Rainfall extend from east Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley, with additional Marginal Risk areas across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Up to 115 fatalities have been reported across more than 20 states in the U.S. after a historic winter storm swept through the eastern two-thirds of the country between January 24 and 26, 2026. The storm is now the deadliest since the 2021 Texas power crisis, when multiple storms claimed nearly 250 lives across the country, and has surpassed the death toll of the 2022 Buffalo Blizzard of the Century.
Winter storm warnings and watches have been issued across a broad swath of the United States due to a long-duration winter storm forecast to affect the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley to the Midwest, Great Lakes, Appalachians, and parts of the Southwest.
