Tornadoes caused by Climate Change?

Tornadoes caused by Climate Change?


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Wall Street Journal, 12122021, Science Section

Predictably, the climate change team was available to claim that the recent deadly tornado was caused by changing climate, and of course, we must step up efforts to combat it. It may surprise you that most scientists disagree that Tornadoes are caused by climate change - the data is not there. Interesting points I found are:

  • Why don’t we name Tornadoes? Too many, localized, short duration. We older folks may remember names like ‘cyclone’ or twister’ - same thing.

  • This latest tornado (Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee.) may break a record for the longest tornado track - 250 miles long.

    • It was part of a cluster of tornadoes; 37 were reported.

    • It was spawned by unusually hot, humid weather at a time of year when twisters are rare.

    • The National Weather Service recognized the potential threat of the Friday night tornadoes days in advance and issued warnings across the affected area starting Thursday morning.

  • The colliding fronts drew a plume of warm, moist air from the south and pushed it into the upper atmosphere. As the plume rose, the water vapor it held chilled and condensed into water. That released the energy needed to fuel a titanic explosion of whirlwinds.

  • The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that rising temperatures resulting from greenhouse-gas emissions would trigger extreme weather events, such as more powerful hurricanes and intense rainfall. But in the absence of reliable data, the panel declined to attribute any changes in the frequency or severity of tornadoes to global warming.

  • Every year, the U.S. experiences about 500 tornadoes.

    The number of twisters hasn’t changed appreciably since reliable record-keeping started in 1954. But the annual pattern of tornado activity has changed dramatically in recent years, with tornado clusters now more common.

    • Decades ago, clusters of 30 tornadoes or more—like the outbreak Friday—could be expected once every couple of years. Now such clusters tend to strike on two or three days a year.

    • Tornadoes have been recorded on all continents except Antarctica.

    • Most move from southwest to northeast or west to east.

    • A Tornado may not have a visible funnel.

    • There is a 95-page manual that tells you how to classify a Tornadoes strength - the enhanced F scale.

    • There is no nationwide requirement for tornado sirens - controlled by local governments.

  • And for my Arizona friends who mistakenly believe we don’t get them:

    • There have been 269 tornadoes in Arizona from 1950 through 2020 — the 17th fewest among states. These tornadoes directly resulted in three deaths and 152 injuries - most are very low on the ‘F’ strength scale and have occurred in all counties.

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