GOES-16 (GOES East) monitored a severe weather outbreak in the Southern U.S. March 17-18, 2021, which spawned at least 15 confirmed tornados that brought down homes and trees and left tens of thousands without power. Mississippi and Alabama were the hardest hit with several tornados being reported, including near Waynesboro, Mississippi; Selma, Alabama; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The powerful storm then moved eastward and affected portions of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. GOES-16 air mass imagery with Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) overlay shows a significant amount of lightning within these storms.
Credit: NOAA/CIRA
