Supported by
What We Know About Tornadoes and Climate Change
Scientists have been able to draw links between a warming planet and hurricanes, heat waves and droughts, but the complexity of tornadoes makes it hard to draw the same climate connection.
Forecasters warned that parts of the South could experience strong tornadoes on Tuesday, as severe thunderstorms in the lower and mid-Mississippi Valley and other areas produce damaging hail and powerful gusts of wind.
Scientists have been able to draw links between a warming planet and hurricanes, heat waves and droughts, attributing the likelihood that climate change played a role in individual isolated events. The same can’t be said for tornadoes yet.
Even as scientists are discovering trends around tornadoes and their behavior, it remains unclear the role that climate change plays. “For a lot of our questions about climate change and tornadoes, the answer is we don’t know,” said Harold Brooks, a senior research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. “We don’t see evidence for changes in average annual occurrence or intensity over the last 40 to 60 years.”
What causes a tornado?
Tornadoes form inside large rotating thunderstorms and the ingredients have to be just right. Tornadoes occur when there is a perfect mix of temperature, moisture profile and wind profile.
When the air is unstable, cold air is pushed over warmer humid air, creating an updraft as the warm air rises. When a wind’s speed or direction changes over a short distance, the air inside the clouds can start to spin. If the air column begins spinning vertically and rotates near the ground, it can intensify the friction on Earth’s surface, accelerating the air inward, forming a tornado.
How are they measured?
Like hurricanes and earthquakes, tornadoes are rated on a scale. The Enhanced Fujita, or EF, scale runs from 0 to 5.
Advertisement