An intense low-pressure system produced widespread impacts across the United States in early March 2023.

[17] On March 2, severe storms led to a ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

[30] A large capping inversion, placed along northern Louisiana, was expected to contain the atmosphere from initiating convective activity, but the presence of moisture, daytime heating in the area, and steep mid-level lapse rates, made the environment favorable for severe weather, including the possibility for supercells capable of all hazards.

Given the favorable parameters in place, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a large corridor, extending from extreme northeastern Texas, most of central Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi, and southwestern Tennessee, were the highest probabilities for tornadoes were located.

As a large, widespread, and damaging storm complex event was occurring throughout the Great Plains, which unleashed powerful damaging winds and tornadoes across Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, the SPC highlighted a potential area for the risk of severe weather in the following days, with the main, 30% area for severe weather centered around eastern Texas, northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, middle portions of Mississippi, and western Alabama, as conditions were expected to be very favorable for the development of thunderstorms capable of all severe weather hazards.

[31] After introducing a massive level 3/enhanced risk for March 2 on February 28,[32] which now included portions of southeastern Oklahoma, the SPC upped the threat to a level 4/moderate risk, throughout a corridor centered along the Ark-La-Tex region, clipping into extreme southeastern Oklahoma, on March 1.

Throughout the risk area, the environmentally favorable conditions for severe weather were set in motion due to the presence of abundant moisture, instability that was expected ahead of a cold front starting from north-central Texas, and intense wind shear prevalent across the entire region.

[33] At the 1630 UTC update on March 2, however, the 15% hatched area was removed due to lingering uncertainty about the timing of the most favorable wind shear for tornadoes versus the convective mode of the ongoing storms.