A tornado, rated F4, killed 12 people and injured 30 on a 17 mile track through Calhoun and Cleburne counties in Alabama.

San Francisco, California reached their highest temperature ever recorded in March. The mercury rose to 86 degrees.

The Great Tri-State Tornado tore a 219 mile path through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, resulting in the greatest U.S. tornado disaster ever. 695 people were killed, the largest death toll from a single tornado in U.S. history. 234 deaths occurred at Murphysboro, Illinois, the biggest death toll within a single city from a tornado on record. At one point, the tornado was moving at a record setting 73 mph. This tornado was easily an F5 on the Fujita scale with winds exceeding 260 mph. Instead of occurring along a cold front or in a squall line, the tornado was closely associated with a surface low pressure area. In all respects, it was a remarkable tornado and stands alone in its own class of tornadic events.

High winds accompanied a powerful low pressure system tracking from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes. Winds gusted to 100 mph at Hastings, Nebraska and to 115 mph at Hays, Kansas. High winds caused 2 million dollars in property damage in Kansas.