In Just One Week, Over 100 Tornadoes Abnormally Swept Through The U.S., And This Is Why We Have More Of Them Now

Matthew - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only
Matthew - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only

In just one week, over 100 tornadoes have swept through parts of the U.S., destroying dozens of homes and uprooting the lives of many people.

Some of the affected regions include Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. These areas are known to be prone to tornadoes during this time of year, but it’s abnormal to have so many of them develop in such a short span of time.

Andrew Winters, an assistant professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado, explained the reasons behind the recent increase in tornadoes.

One of the reasons can be attributed to El Niño, a climate pattern that refers to the warming of surface waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

“During El Niño, the atmosphere can produce a strong subtropical air current. Any waves or fluctuation along the subtropical jet stream that makes the jet wavy can create an environment that facilitates the production of severe weather and tornadoes in the spring. This is what caused the tornadoes across the country over the last couple of weeks,” Winters explained.

Most tornadoes are the result of a supercell storm, but they can form through any kind of severe thunderstorm.

Supercell storms are characterized by a mesocyclone, a violent updraft that persistently rotates for an extended period of time.

The circulation starts from above and will move downward to the ground, which is how a tornado is created.

Climate change may also be a contributing factor toward the uptick in tornadoes. Previously, studies have found that an increasingly warming climate provides ideal conditions for extreme weather phenomenona to develop.

Matthew – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

However, there are still a lot of gaps in the knowledge about the impact a warming climate has on tornadoes.

This is because tornadoes are notoriously difficult to study, making it a challenge to predict when exactly they will occur.

The southeastern and midwest regions of the U.S. are also currently in the middle of tornado season, which certainly plays a part in the increase of tornadoes.

“Typically, the tornado season begins around March in the southeastern United States, and the area most likely to experience severe weather will migrate westward toward the central and southern plains,” Winters said.

“Once we get to summer months, especially June, we will begin to see various severe weather events from tornadoes to strong, damaging winds to large hail at higher latitudes in the plains like Colorado.”

It is unclear whether the high frequency of severe tornadoes will persist throughout the season or even into future years. For now, scientists are closely monitoring the development of severe weather events.

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Emily  Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a ... More about Emily Chan

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