Tornado outbreak of March 16–17, 1942
|duration= parameter from the infobox header or from another 'History' box instead.Weather map on March 17, showing the low pressure area over the Great Lakes that would produce the tornado outbreak | |
| Tornado outbreak | |
|---|---|
| Tornadoes | ≥ 30 |
| Maximum rating | F5 tornado |
| Duration | March 16–17, 1942 |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 149 |
| Injuries | ≥ 1,312 |
| Damage | $5,265,000 ($103,750,000 in 2025 USD) |
| Areas affected | Central and Southern United States |
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1942 | |
On March 16–17, 1942, a deadly late-winter tornado outbreak struck a large area of the Central and Southern United States, killing 149 people and injuring at least 1,312. At least five states reported violent tornadoes, from Illinois and Indiana south to Mississippi, beginning with an F4 tornado in the morning in Illinois. Intense activity spread south to the Gulf Coast and north to the Michigan–Indiana border as the day went on. Seven violent tornadoes were reported, one of which was a powerful F5 in Illinois. A long-tracked F4 tornado family in Mississippi claimed 63 lives as well, becoming the deadliest event of the outbreak. Another long-lived F4 in Tennessee killed 15 more people, and a series of intense tornadoes caused 24 other deaths in Kentucky. The outbreak also produced 18 tornadoes that caused at least one death—ranking eighth on a list of similar events since 1880 by tornado researcher Thomas P. Grazulis.