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- Tornado activity is moving east to southeast and west-central.
- Slight decreases in tornado frequency have been observed in the plains since 1979.
- Drier conditions in the plains, better reports of tornadoes and climate change can play a role in this change.
Tornadoes are developing more frequently in Mississippi's riparian states in recent decades, and scientists have not understood why.
According to a recent study, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky are experiencing more tornadoes than at the same time. late 1970s. published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science.
In fact, all over eastern Mississippi, with the exception of the west coast of Florida, there is an increase in the activity of tornadoes.
In this study, the authors examined both the tornado reports provided by humans and the ingredients that typically result in tornadoes across the United States.
"The change could be deadly because the area with increasing tornado activity is bigger and houses more people," senior author Victor Gensini told the Associated Press.
(PLUS: Discover the formation of a tornado)
Although there are states that see more tornadoes, the four deadliest the states for the tornadoes are Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to the National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration.
Tornado frequency changes from 1979 to 2018, where warm colors indicate an increase in tornado frequency and cool colors indicate a decrease in tornado frequency. (Victor Gensini, Department of Geographical and Atmospheric Sciences, Northern Illinois University)
Gensini thinks that the drying up of the Great Plains has at least something to do with this change. This drying of the tornado alley means that there is less moisture to have the type of thunderstorm that causes tornadoes, Gensini said. Tornadoes form along the "dry line" where there are more thunderstorms, as there is a dry air to the west and a humid air from the Gulf of Mexico to the east. .
The authors add: "It is unclear whether trends observed in the environment of tornadoes and their frequency are due to natural variability or whether they are altered by anthropogenic forcing on the climate system".
The typical tornado alley states, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, still record the highest number of tornadoes each year, but the number of tornadoes in these states has been decreasing since 1979. Declines the most important of the frequency of tornadoes were recorded in central and east Texas.
The largest decreases in tornado activity were observed from March to May, while the sharp decreases observed in the rest of the tornado alley were observed in the summer.
Contrary to expectations, the regions where tornadoes would have been the most under-reported before the digital age are the same as those where tornado frequency is the most frequent. The Plains states are less populated than the Southeast and Midwest, and the number of tornadoes has increased over the last century, due to the growing popularity of mobile phone cameras, social media, and the hunter's craft. storm.
No significant increase in tornado frequency was observed west of the 95th meridian., which connects Minnesota to the metropolitan area of Kansas City and east Oklahoma / Texas. No significant decrease was found east of this line.
(PLUS: the drier weather can also be oriented to the east))
Some information used in this report comes from the Associated Press.
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