Tornadoes, Extreme Weather, and Climate Change - by Joe Romm

The return of tornado season with a vengeance has people asking again about a possible link to climate change.  At the same time, tantalizing new preliminary research finds “some evidence to suggest that tornadoes are, in fact, getting stronger.”

And a September 2013 study from Stanford, Robust increases in severe thunderstorm environments in response to greenhouse forcing, points to “a possible increase in the number of days supportive of tornadic storms.”  In particular, the study found that sustained global warming will boost the number of days experiencing conditions that produce severe events during spring, representing “an increase of about 40 percent over the eastern U.S. by the late 21st century.”

Tornadoes, Extreme Weather, and Climate Change - by Joe Romm