How Tornadoes Could Become More Dangerous With Global Warming

Researchers say more warm air will likely lead to fast spinning tornadoes.

Transcript

00:00The climate is getting warmer, and with that we can expect more extreme weather to go along with it.

00:09And if recent unusual weather events are any indication, that could spell trouble, especially with regards to tornadoes.

00:16Science news reports experts say that a warmer climate will not only increase the number of tornadoes we get throughout the year,

00:21with twisters occurring more and more in what was once considered off-season,

00:25but they say that tornadoes may get more intense as well, causing more destruction and putting more lives at risk.

00:31Atmospheric scientist Kevin Reed says that historically, tornadoes have been left off of large-scale climate models,

00:37as they are such a localized weather event,

00:39which is why he and his team have recently taken a look at how the extreme spiraling phenomena might change as the climate warms,

00:45and the results are worrying.

00:47Their models suggest that tornado wind speeds could increase by 15%,

00:51as warmer, more humid airstreams boost the wickedness of storms.

00:54With Reed adding that recent December tornadoes support these simulated models,

00:59but more research using a wider dataset will be needed to better predict these devastating weather systems.