Scientists investigate twisters like detectives

AP/WorldMag ^ | Apr 29, 11:44 PM EDT | MICHAEL RUBINKAM and KRISTI EATON

[quantim]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Weather scientists are retracing the footprints of this week's monstrous tornadoes the way detectives would investigate a crime scene: talking to witnesses, watching surveillance video and even taking the measurements of the trees ripped from the ground.

The result will be a meteorological autopsy report on the disaster, revealing once and for all how many twisters developed and how powerful they were.

"First priority is finding the dead and taking care of the injured and getting utilities back up," said John Snow, dean emeritus of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. "But in parallel to that, we want to get as much data and find as much data as we can."

Researchers have to be on the scene fast - usually within days - to keep the scientific evidence as fresh as possible, Snow said.

[quantim]

Of course there is no mention of *The Sun* or solar activity the last couple of years of global cooling from all those satellites we are paying for.

[Paladin2]

More data collection is unprecedented.

A s long as they adequately normalize for the differences in data collection techniques, placing the events in the historical narrative will be fine. There is nothing wrong with data collection.

[eyedigress]

I have no problem with scientists trying to pinpoint an outbreak of tornadoes, but for NBC to pull an Al Gore begs the question........Where the hell was their global warming crap when the upper mid-west set snow records this year.

[advance_copy]

I’ll give you another possible cause. The earthquake in Japan moved that nation about 10 inches closer to North America, it moved the axis of the Earth about 2 inches, and it caused the Earth to spin a little faster shortening the days by nearly 2 microseconds.

The atmosphere has to adjust to these changes. And it is doing that. The adjustment is causing some heavy storms and tornados. The same thing happened during the months after the Chirstmas 2004 earthquake off the shore of Indonesia.

[quantim]

That's just nuts.

You see Earth's rotation is being slowed down by windmills. ;-)

[Oztrich Boy]

How are twisters like detectives? Do they go through, and just as you think you gotten away with it, they turn and say “Just one more thing...”?

[SunkenCiv]

The earthquake in Japan moved that nation about 10 inches closer to North America, it moved the axis of the Earth about 2 inches, and it caused the Earth to spin a little faster shortening the days by nearly 2 microseconds. The atmosphere has to adjust to these changes. And it is doing that. The adjustment is causing some heavy storms and tornados. The same thing happened during the months after the Chirstmas 2004 earthquake off the shore of Indonesia.

Thanks advance_copy, food for thought.

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