00:00If you think you're safe from violent tornadoes because you don't live in Tornado Alley, you could be wrong, because this area moves east.
00:09It seems that we will more and more often have access to several powerful tornadoes in one day.
00:15And as it moves to more populated areas, it could make more victims and destroy more houses.
00:22There is not enough time to build infrastructures to preserve everyone from this imminent danger.
00:28So the minimum you can do to protect yourself is to learn as much as possible about it.
00:34Every year, about 1,200 tornadoes hit the United States.
00:38This frequency is due to a unique geography that creates ideal conditions, especially in spring and summer.
00:45The winds of the Pacific bring humidity on the rocks, then become dry and cool as they head east.
00:51They then meet, on a flat ground, hot and humid air currents from the Gulf of Mexico.
00:57This is how the instability of the air and the scratches of the wind are born, perfect conditions for the formation of tornadoes.
01:03Historically, tornadoes were born more frequently in Tornado Alley.
01:07This term was used for the first time in the 1950s by two meteorologists for their research project on the extreme weather conditions of Texas and Oklahoma.
01:17Northeastern Texas and southern Oklahoma are precisely the regions that are mentioned when we talk about Tornado Alley.
01:24But over the last ten years, this area has moved east about 800 kilometers.
01:29Today, Missouri, Arkansas, west Tennessee, Kentucky, north Mississippi and Alabama are seeing more tornadoes.
01:39The early 2023 storms clearly show that this trend is real.
01:44A violent tornado hit Rolling Fork, in Mississippi, and another series of storms caused huge damage in this new Tornado Alley.
01:53The data from the last two years show that the large series of tornadoes,
01:57featuring several whirlwinds from the same meteorological system,
02:01were also moving east, gaining in frequency and intensity.
02:07Tornado Alley moves east, mainly because of supercells.
02:11These powerful storms, with rotating ascending currents, generate new tornadoes.
02:17Supercells are formed when hot and humid air near the ground interacts with fresh and dry air at altitude.
02:24We live in the heart of a real natural experience,
02:28and observe the changes in the basic components of large storms,
02:31without yet knowing how significant these changes are.
02:35Experts predict that supercell storms will become more frequent at the end of winter and early spring,
02:42and less common at the end of summer and fall.
02:45In recent years, the air has become increasingly hot and humid,
02:49and the interactions between air masses are increasingly frequent.
02:53Experts explain that the atmosphere is becoming more unstable,
02:57as the Gulf of Mexico sends more water vapor to the southeast of the United States, thus feeding the storms.
03:03Research also shows that the so-called dry line,
03:07which separates the drier east of the United States from the arid west, also moves east.
03:13Traditionally located along the 100th meridian,
03:16this line has moved about 225 km east since the end of the 19th century.
03:22This movement can affect the places where storms form,
03:25because the dry line acts as a boundary for convection,
03:28where hot air rises and cold air descends, which gives birth to storms.
03:33The milder winters observed recently also increase the chances that these unstable air masses interact
03:39and form supercells earlier in the year.
03:41It is difficult to predict how the situation will evolve and what danger it represents,
03:46because we do not have a lot of data on the impact of meteorological conditions
03:51on phenomena as ephemeral as tornadoes.
03:54The U.S. Meteorological Service did not begin to record tornadoes until 1950,
04:00and it did not record many tornadoes in the receded areas.
04:04The data shows that the number of days affected by tornadoes each year has decreased,
04:08but that the tornado activity is then more intense.
04:11Records also show that in some years, tornadoes kill up to 20 people in the United States,
04:17while in other years, they can cost more than 100 lives.
04:21Today, there are more people living on the path of tornadoes,
04:25because the population of the United States has more than doubled since 1950,
04:29and the southeast, where the activity of tornadoes could increase, now has many more inhabitants.
04:35Texas and Oklahoma are well protected from tornadoes, but the regions of the southeast are not.
04:41In addition, there are many mobile homes, particularly vulnerable to storms, in the southeast.
04:47Tornadoes in this region often strike at night and are 2.5 times more likely to cause human losses.
04:54We could observe more events similar to the Super Tuesday 2008 tornado epidemic.
05:00This one hit the south of the United States and the Ohio Valley,
05:04and in just 15 hours, 87 tornadoes tore through the region, causing enormous damage.
05:1057 people lost their lives in 4 states and 18 counties, and many others were injured.
05:16Tornadoes were fed by powerful low-pressure systems that brought record heat.
05:22Supercells and rotating winds then produced these violent tornadoes.
05:27Early in the day of February 5, a grain line formed from eastern Texas to Missouri and moved east.
05:35One of the most intense tornadoes traveled 200 kilometers in just two hours.
05:40On the early morning of February 6, the threat moved east of the United States,
05:45its winds causing ravages, while the cold was heading towards the Atlantic.
05:49Snow and ice were spreading from Iowa to Quebec.
05:53The storm damaged many houses, tore some of their foundations, and took away the mobile homes.
05:59Several vehicles and semi-trailers were thrown off the highway and thrown against the trees.
06:04Winds of more than 80 kilometers per hour blew from Arkansas to Indiana.
06:10We observed hail of the size of a tennis ball,
06:13trees overturned, and power cuts everywhere.
06:17Some areas were flooded due to heavy rains and snow melting.
06:22All this led to more than 1,000 cancellations at the Chicago airport
06:26and disruptions at the Toronto airport.
06:29Scientific data can help the new hit regions of the United States
06:33prepare for the arrival of new tornadoes.
06:36Authorities will have to improve collective shelters and alert systems,
06:40as well as educate residents on safety measures in the event of a tornado.
06:45You can also prepare by following three basic rules.
06:48Go home, lower yourself, and cover yourself.
06:51When you hear an imminent tornado alert,
06:54take refuge in the room that is closest to your house,
06:57and stay away from doors and windows.
06:59If you have a cave or an anti-tornado shelter, hide there.
07:03Otherwise, just make sure you are on the floor as low as possible.
07:07Use everything you have on hand to protect yourself from debris.
07:10Clothes, pillows, blankets, a mattress or a sturdy table.
07:14Anything will do.
07:16It is often said that the bathroom is the safest place to hide.
07:20This seems logical because they are generally located in the center of houses.
07:24In March 2023, a man and his girlfriend in Rolling Fork, in Mississippi,
07:29survived a tornado in their bathtub.
07:32They were thrown into the air but landed safely in the middle of the debris of their mobile home.
07:37However, there is nothing particularly safe to hide in a bathtub with a mattress.
07:42Italian-style cupboards and showers, located deep inside the building,
07:46can also provide good protection.
07:49Do not use elevators.
07:51You could get stuck in case of a power outage.
07:54Stay in your shelter until you are sure that the threat has passed.
07:58If possible, listen to weather service news on local radio or television.
08:04Several tornadoes can hit the same region,
08:07so they may not be sure to leave even after a tornado has passed.
08:12When you leave your shelter, be very careful.
08:15There could be floods, landslides, collapsed buildings and blocked roads.
08:20Stay away from downed power lines and puddles of water or cables,
08:25and do not use a match or lighter in case of a gas leak.
08:29Avoid damaged buildings because they could collapse at any moment.
08:33Being in a car during a tornado is much safer than being outside or in a parking lot.
08:39Many people are regularly injured trying to escape storms,
08:43and tornadoes can cause tennis ball-sized hail that can easily break a windshield.
08:49If you are outside when a tornado strikes, try to find a shelter.
08:55If this is not possible, stay as low as possible.
08:59Even a ditch or a ditch can be safer than your vehicle.
Comments