Global Warming
Posted on 03/03/2007 9:19:16 AM PST by Kaslin
The tornadoes that tore across the south-eastern US on Thursday, killing at least 19 people, were devastating but not unprecedented, say tornado experts. However, the twisters did strike unusually early in the year.
The tornado season in the US normally reaches its peak between mid-April and June. The tornadoes tend to get stronger as the year progresses because warming temperatures increase the amount of energy in the atmosphere.
"Early March is a bit early for a severe tornado," says Nigel Bolton, national forecaster at the UK Met Office and member of the UK-based Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). But he notes that such events have happened before this early in the year, when the key atmospheric circumstances combine.
In this case, the extremely cold US was probably a contributing factor. Tornadoes in the US form when a front of dry, cold air descending from the north meets warm, moist air coming up from the south. Sometimes, a body of the cold air slides over the top of the warm air, trapping it underneath.
This creates unstable atmospheric conditions, and if there is enough energy in the system, the warm air will punch through the denser cold air above, triggering thunderstorms. The next step required is for the winds to be changing their speed and direction with altitude. "If there's enough rotation you get a tornado," says Bolton (see graphic).
(Excerpt) Read more at environment.newscientist.com ...
But we have been told that they were due to global warming!
We're doomed.
On No! Global Whirling!!
The left believes anything
Global Warming
This has all been explained by Gore that we can expect global cooling as an initial phase of global warming.
In other words, no matter what happens the environmentalists have covered both bases and they CAN'T be wrong. This means, of course, that we're doomed if we are guided by them.
Just Damn.
-27 and not a thunderstorm in sight.
Uh, in MY South, we have had an extremely WARM winter.
Temps December were 20 degrees above normal, and it has been 10-15 warmer than normal for the last several weeks.
Scratch that. I just re-read. I was up all night with a recalcitrant toddler. I am not at my best.
*Sigh*
Weather.com was telling me that it was 71 degrees and mildly windy here, when all hell was breaking loose outside of my door at times. Multiple thunderstorms east and west of me, like a sandwich. Tornados being thrown out (although not as many as we feared)
Tornado hit the on next road over, but but it was all woods.
There was just something different about this set of storms.
Wow. No doubt this is going to result in 'floods' in a couple of weeks, due to 'global warming' that comes with spring.
No, we get storms/tornado warnings all the time here. Up close and personal too.
It was warm here in Orlando yesterday but didn't feel too uncomfortable. Then I watched the news last night to find we broke a temp record - it got to 89 degrees!
Thank goodness for these cold winters in the South.
But I guess GA gives us warm weather in some places and cold in others to keep us on our toes.
Can you imagine the flooding that is sure to come with that much snow once the snow melts?
Interesting. Thanks.
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