Mild season in Tornado Alley frustrates scientists

AP via Google News ^ | July 30, 2009 | MELANIE S. WELTE

[Oldeconomybuyer]

DES MOINES, Iowa — This has been an unusually mild year in Tornado Alley, which is good news, of course, for the people who live here, but a little frustrating to scientists who planned to chase twisters as part of a $10 million research project.

"You're out there to do the experiment and you're geared up every day and ready. And when there isn't anything happening, that is frustrating," said Don Burgess, a scientist at the University of Oklahoma.

Meteorologists are attributing the relative calm not to anything dire, like global warming, but to the shifts in the jet stream that happen from time to time. When the jet stream runs south to north in the spring over the central states, there are usually plenty of tornadoes. When it's more west to east, as it is this year, tornadoes are less common.

[TheClintons-STILLAnti-American]

"You're out there to do the experiment and you're geared up every day and ready. And when there isn't anything happening, that is frustrating," said Don Burgess, a scientist at the University of Oklahoma.

Sounds like government work.

[GeronL]

whatever happened to hurricanes?

Has the Earth cooled so much that the storms have been cut down?

[colorado tanker]

Last year's high number of tornadoes was supposedly due to global warming, but this year's quiet season is due to a shift in the jet stream. Doncha just love “science”?

[Oldeconomybuyer]

...whatever happened to hurricanes?

McCain lost.

[Deb]

Great! We just saved $10 million. Just kidding.

[dsrtsage]

Interesting...they are attributing the lack of tornadoes to shifts in the jet stream, and not global warming.

I wonder what the cause would have been had it been a banner year for tornadoes?

[ClearCase_guy]

Bad weather is always caused by Global Warming. Whether it's hot or cold, wet or dry -- if it's weather you don't like, please be assured that this is related to the scourge of Global Warming.

Good weather, on the other hand, is caused by ... I dunno ... the jet stream or something. It's just a natural cycle, part of nature, yadda, yadda, yadda.

[listenhillary]

Don’t they get paid anyway?

[VeniVidiVici]

Last year's high number of tornadoes was supposedly due to global warming, but this year's quiet season is due to a shift in the jet stream. Doncha just love “science”?

After the huge number of hurricanes we had in 2004/2005 some group erected billboards in the Orlando area blaming George Bush (who else) and GLOBAL WARMING for the hurricanes, warning us that unless we changed our wicked ways it would only get worse.

Of course since then, the hurricane factory has been awfully quiet. Very few and when we did get one (Faye) it was more bark than bite.

[OldDeckHand]

Tremendous increase in tornadic activity = Global Warming

Tremendous decrease in tornadic activity = Global Warming

Signed,

Al Gore
C- Science Student

[FourPeas]

Of course, lack of tornadoes CAN'T be caused by Global Warming or Climate Change or Our Deteriorating Atmosphere or whatever the latest phrase du jour is. Global Warming causes BAD things. I'm so glad we humans are so knowledgeable that we know what the true temperature of our planet should be. We're devolving into a cousin of the lemming.

[Rodm]

Sound like a good investment $10 million for fewer twisters

=)

[woodbutcher1963]

“whatever happened to hurricanes?”

The season just started and does not peak until early Sept.
Unless, Karl Rove turns the machine on earlier this year.
(SARC)

[colorado tanker]

The Hurricane factory will probably stay relatively calm so long as ocean temps remain lower during the present cool period.

Ooops, did I say cool period? Omigosh, I'm a denier! Call Hansen, call Algore, call Henry Batfaceman!

[Danae]

A quiet season bad for science but GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WON”T LOSE THEIR LIVES AND HOMES! Damn... has society lost so much respect for human life?

[ronnietherocket2]

I thought our climate models were perfect and 100% accurate, or am I missing something?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

“You’re out there to do the experiment and you’re geared up every day and ready. And when there isn’t anything happening, that is frustrating,”

Oh for heaven’s sake. In this part of the country, if you don’t like the weather wait a day or two.

[Rock N Jones]

No they just tack this years unspent 10 mil on next years 10 mil budget. The growing need for necessities, new limos, computers and updated software, desks and furniture, added office space and general renovations, convention expenses and more secretaries.

[Ole Okie]

I thought our climate models were perfect and 100% accurate, or am I missing something?

If a model is used to extrapolate 10, 50 or 100 years into the future, it'd darn well need to be 100% accurate to have any meaning at all.

We aren't even close. Most of the projections are just GIGO.