Yeah, of course the record high temperatures across the east this spring will have no consequences whatsoever in the way of tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, etc.

I personally think that states like Texas that happily spew millions of tons of carbon dioxide while loudly proclaiming that there "ain't no such thing as global warming" should forgo their "evil socialist federal government" disaster payments.

That'll show 'em.

Because one cannot tie a single event, or year to climate change.

Climate change is all about long term averages. We won't know if this season is a result of climate change unless subsequent seasons share a similar pattern.

Do mean mean like the same pattern of last year with record numbers of tornados?

Do mean mean like the same pattern of last year with record numbers of tornados?

One year, even two years doesn't make a climate.

Don't get me wrong, I am a believer of man-made climate change. But climate is the long term averages, weather are the singular events that make up those averages.

Interesting that no one mentions the 1103 Tornadoes of 1973, or that it was a relatively cool year, or that it had 250 tornadoes in the month of May alone. I'm glad that no one screamed 'Climate Change', to which would have to be pointed out that the tornado events of 1972 and 1973 show that bad things can happen in model years, too. Then again, I didn't need media to hype this to me, I was there in 1973 when the stream of killer tornadoes came through. Sometimes, history has a habit of getting in the way of bad hype.

Home owners insurance is going to go way up, if you will be able to get it at all.

What climate change? The whole article was about a warmer season. Did you miss something?

Yeah, just like climate change was fueling a record increase in hurricanes like Katrina and that it was just going to get worse after Katrina....

Oh. Wait. What? Hurricanes seasons have been relatively quiet since Katrina? Huh. Weird.

Now it's the tornadoes.

Done!

stupid climate change believers and scientists- if they wouldnt think about these so much they wouldnt happen. hope they are happy that all these bad things they predicted are actually happening. as for me, ill just stick my head in the (tar) sands and say "la la la la la" until this all blows over.

4thamendment4th,

Yes but add this to all of the other weather anomolies that we have had and are still having. Major flooding, severe drouts, record high heat even in March. All this stuff is happening in too many places too frequently here lately.

Yeah, just like climate change was fueling a record increase in hurricanes like Katrina and that it was just going to get worse after Katrina....Oh. Wait. What? Hurricanes seasons have been relatively quiet since Katrina? Huh. Weird. Now it's the tornadoes.

It's as if some people think global = the USA. What a strange idea.

The Earth is slowing in rotation & LEAP SECONDS are added to the clock sometimes two seconds per year to compensate. The slowing rotation affects the formation of the WIND WELLS that form as the AIR COLUMN presses down on the Earth as it spins & the DRAG EFFECT at the proper speed creates the wind cells. BUT now that the Earth is slow in rotational speed the WIND-cells are becoming erratic and changing the jet stream, easterly, westerly, trade winds, 1 to 5 hurricanes on the planet per week, a new hurricane belt off of the coast of Brazil. As the Earth continues to slow in rotation the winds will increase in erractic behaviors with incredible forces we have never seen before...IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR!

And nobody blamed President Bush yet?

It's as if some people think global = the USA. What a strange idea.

Huh, I thought I was the only one that noticed that!

Here are a couple of things to consider concerning the idea that there are more tornadoes causing more damage than ever before. For one, there are vast areas of the country that are more developed now. Where once tornadoes might have harmlessly skipped over open countryside or farmland, now they are hitting areas that are housing developments and commercial enterprises. The economic and financial toll is obviously greater when more areas exist to be hit. Also, the National Weather Service normally will not tally that an actual tornado has occured unless it has been eyewitness confirmed or the damage is obvious that a tornado caused it. Today there are more storm chasers than ever before and practically everyone has at least a camera on their phone to document a tornado. In past decades there were undoubtedly tornadoes on the ground that officially never existed because no one saw them or was able to document them- especially those flying over open, unpopulated areas.

Wasn't all this stuff mentioned a time or two in some old Book that people used to read?

Damn alot of you people are becoming very predictable. Take a glance at the headlines and you can almost guess it down to a T what the comments are going to say. People acting like only Texas and acting like EVERY Texan blows off the idea of global warming ( You people always categorize everyone as a whole ).

Do I call BS to Global Warming? No. I do believe NONE of us, not just texans you @!$%#s, but none of us are helping anything, however, the world has heated up and cooled down since it was created. We are not helping with the emissions and all the crap we put into the air, but we are not the SOLE cause of it happening. It didn't just magically appear because cars were invented, maybe sped up but not created.

The " Go Green " crap brings in BILLIONS every year of people who are brainwashed to spend all their money on green this green that. Green cars 90% of them are only affordable to people who make TONS of money, and there are a few cheaper cars but a bigger family needs a bigger car. Take the really ridiculous Nissan Leaf... All Electric no Gas Req.... Starting price is right around 30,000. Prius's are even worse, one I looked at at the dealership was over 40,000. The only way you will ever get the AVERAGE people into a "green" car, or atleast have a better chance of it, is making it actually affordable.

I drive a 2000 ford focus, have had it since it was new in June of 2000. Before you go thinking oh hot damn a Texan he must drive a big ol lifted truck burning up my Ozone!.

We have decades, and in some cases, over a hundred years of data. CO2 concentrations have risen in lockstep almost with the increase use of fossil fuels world wide for decades. And warmer temperatures, even a degree or two, means warmer than normal air will meet cold fronts and produce more severe weather more often.

Forget the well studied scientist worldwide, did any of you take any science classes in grade school? That's not some conspiracy by the science community! That's something you can watch 3-4 times a day on your local news. I don't know how right-wing loudmouthes can continually convince you to disbelieve the things you see with your own eyes on a daily basis. It's amazing how many people can close their eyes to anything that would make them question their beliefs. But lumped together into a national political party is just the blind leading the blind. EXTREME!

I don't know how right-wing loudmouthes can continually convince you to disbelieve the things you see with your own eyes on a daily basis.

BrainCandy-3328906 - I'm impressed. You can observe climate change with you eyes. Over a hundred years data! Wow, that is a lot. I guess you could probably prove any statistic as long as use just the right amount of data...

I think climate change is do to the onslaught of of people not believing in their GOD..

Suck it Julkie! Not everyone in Texas is on-board with the climate-change deniers, and anytime a severe storm happens anywhere in this country it is a tragedy. You would do well to remember that lest Karma jump up and take someone you care about. BTW, the CO2 and toxins that Texans breathe is a by-product of all the gasoline and chemicals that gets shipped around to other parts of this country. You ain't seen high gas prices like the ones you would see if we stopped refining. If possible, use your brain before posting.

With all due respect to the posters, everyone is missing the point. When you see tornadic activity showing signs of intelligence as the tornadoes season this year and last; when you see record heat being turned on and off as if by a switch; when you see hail stones the size of baseballs; when you see record cold as if being cut on and off; when you see the jet stream bending in extremely unusual patterns, don't turn your attention to global warming or carbon emissions, take the leap and understand what we are witnessing, which is no more that the creation of a whole new heaven and Earth. You all knew that this day was coming.

SUM.1--We all knew that this day was coming? Ummm, April 5th?

Or, what did you mean by "this"?

Climate is a complex thing. Human activity can affect it, just as it can affect the environment--the effects of the lead from Roman smelting affected Europe for hundreds of years. The effects of deforestation in Ireland and Britain will probably never be reversed.

Still, it is hard to predict what will happen as a result of human activity. We already know--because it's already happened (and, yes, one can see this with one's own eyes)--that some islands that used to be inhabitable are now under water. We already know--because it's already happened--that many beaches are being washed away.

Where I live, we kind of giggle about it--because the tornadoes appear to have moved away from us (we still get them, but not like before). Not all "climate change" is necessarily bad depending on where you live.

But, no, tornadoes do not seem "intelligent" all of a sudden just because they've started cropping up more frenquently in unexpected areas. Hail stones the size of baseballs are common in my neck of the woods. While things are a bit odd, and I do expect that it has to do with climate change that is traceable to humans, I don't think that anyone knows exactly what is going to happen in the future--it might be catastrophic, and it might not. It makes sense to try and avoid making things worse--but apocalyptic predictions (whether of the Apolcalypse or just of rising seas) might be best to also avoid.

Read Bill McKinnon's excellent book, Eaarth (not a misspelling). He compiles the available scientific data and concludes that global warming has already arrived and can not be reversed, only mitigated by wise use of our available resources. The C02 rates are rising faster than predicted 20 years ago as the world's peat forests dry up and the oceans' acid levels rise. Every person on earth could drive a Prius today and the warming process would continue anyway. We can prepare for the inevitable famines, extreme weather events, and political unrest today or suffer more later. It's our choice. But the dye is cast. Our Earth, or "Eaarth" as McKinnon now relabels a forever changed planet, will never be the same. We need to get used to that reality and the sooner the better.

"Tornadoes are yr round and popping-up in places they never have before."

Only not. Tornadoes have been recorded in every month. They have occurred in all 50 US states (yes, even Alaska) and on every continent except Antarctica. Pretty sure that covers "year round" and also eliminates "places they never have been"

In other parts of the world they are called cyclones. If they form over the water they are waterspouts.

The formation of tornadoes require certain atmospheric conditions like super-cells and wind shear. This is why they are more common in the plains states east of the Rocky Mountain range and west of the Appalachian mountains. Tornado Alley has more tornadoes than any other part of the world due to the perfect combination of warm humid air coming up from the Gulf and cool air flowing from the northwest over the Rockies.

The basic engine that drives storms is heat. The average global temperature is rising. Yes, there have been historical temperature cycles that rise and fall. There is a correlation that this happens in step with CO2 levels (shown by data from ice core samples).

The global CO2 level is higher than ever and the temperature is increasing also. One side effect will be more Tornadoes and Hurricanes as more heat is pumped into the air and oceans.

People that are trying to tell you climate change isn't man-made, have a vested interest in downplaying the effects of excess CO2 formation.

Humans are pumping excess carbon dioxide into the air at a rate that is disrupting the balance of mother nature past the tipping point.

Uh, you're incorrect in your initial statement, Paul:

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth.^[1][2] This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotateanticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. A "tropical cyclone" is a synonym for a hurricane. Most large-scale cyclonic circulations are centered on areas of low atmospheric pressure.^[3][4] The largest low-pressure systems are cold-core polar cyclones and extratropical cyclones which lie on the synoptic scale. Warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones, mesocyclones, and polar lows lie within the smaller mesoscale. Subtropical cyclones are of intermediate size.^[5][6] Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch off from the base of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars and Neptune.^[7][8]

In layman's terms, cyclones = typhoons = hurricanes.

Also:

What are tornadoes called in Australia?

In: Tornadoes, Natural Disasters [Edit categories]

Answer:
Improve

Tornadoes are still called tornadoes...,

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_tornadoes_called_in_Australia

@Paul_W -

As a college graduate with degrees in both meteorology and marine science, there are many, many things wrong with your statement. I think Iray801 did an excellent job of pointing out some of them so I won't beat a dead horse. This is why the public should be very careful about the climate change arguments they make. This is an extremely complicated subject and there is a ton of misinformation and oversimplifications floating around to get people all exited.

From the standpoint of a US citizen and a free human, whether climate change is going on or not why are all the environmental movements funded by the big oil companies and big banks and why do all the potential carbon tax laws get paid to huge mega banks that are funding the movements in the first place? Probably to use this as another excuse to steal money from the public. If climate change is really going on then the current scientific literature admits that it is already to late and that even if we totally shut down our industrial society and went back to medieval technology the warming would continue. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your low cost energy while the real scientists try to get to the bottom of this.

Tornadoes are yr round and popping-up in places they never have before.

You can always tell a fossil fuel troll by the shallow rhetoric. bigdaddy writes "..if we totally shut down and went back to medieval technology.." Another one goes something like "Are we all going to be hunter gatherers?" There are plenty of High Tech, low impact solutions out there. Like most reasonable ideas, these solutions are marginalized or, more likely, ignored by govt shills and MSM .It is probable the hunter gatherers of old were more intelligent than the drones of today.

@Iray801: I think you should have paid more attention in meteorology school.

A tornado is also known as a "cyclone" and a hurricane is known as a "typhoon" depending on the part of the world they occur. There are also Tropical cyclones that are larger than ground based cyclones. You can argue about nomenclature, but that wasn't my point. No matter what you call these destructive storms, the primary source of energy causing them is heat.

If you are a marine scientist, then you should know the how the average ocean temperature is trending upward. The more heat energy absorbed by the ocean, the higher the probability of cyclonic storms and the likelihood that they are stronger than average.

Climate change deniers try to act as though they are rational skeptics.

It's getting really hard to deny the evidence that's building that supports climate change from excess CO2. To continue to ignore a serious problem that is going to affect us all is becoming irrational and stubborn.

With world population growing and global resources becoming more in demand, what are the consequences of responsible consumption vs ignoring the mounting warning signs? The scary thing is when is it going to too late to do anything about it?

Paul W--a tornado is sometimes called a "twister" or a "cyclone" in the US. In other parts of the English-speaking world (like Australia), they are called "tornadoes" (well, okay, in Australia they are sometimes called "cock-eyed bob"--why, I don't know--though it could have some relation to terms for male genitalia). I don't know how far outside the US that the use of the term "whirlwind" goes. In Italy, they are tromba d'aria. The point is that the original poster was being sarcastic--and you responded with a false statement that tornadoes are called "cyclones" in other parts of the world.

What causes tornadoes is actually not well known. We know some of the mechanisms--but not all of them. It is virtually impossible to guess which thunderstorm will develop a tornado and which will not--one can only chart them as they start to actually develop and guess what areas will be "ripe" for their development. Thus, we don't actually know that we would have more tornadoes due to excess CO2.

In fact, there appear to be fewer really destructive ones in the buckle of the Bible Belt, otherwise known as Tornado Alley. There may be more, but perhaps they are shorter lived. I don't know--all I know is that they appear to have moved east and north, for the most part. Or, at least, the well-publicized ones have.

But, climate is not as simple as you are trying to make it, nor is the formation of tornadoes, nor is the nomenclature of them. That's really all anyone is trying to say.

I'm amused by the fact that someone replied so seriously to a comment that was sarcastic (know how I know it was sarcastic? The poster LABELED it as such).

Ha! That's funny right there.

What do you expect from an operation that manipulates 911 tapes to further their agenda?

I've decided to take my own actions. I'm contacting all NBC advertisers and letting them know I will no longer buy their product if advertised on NBC. I hope all others tired of NBC/MSNBC slanting or worse yet MANIPULATING the "news" as they want to do the same.

Cheryl you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Please leave the conversations on climate change to those that understand proven scientific concepts, or those that are interested in learning.

Clearly she didn't read the article.

It does state that El Nina is waning and should be decreasing the number of tornado's.

News just makes more people ignorant to the truth.

It does state that El Nina is waning and should be decreasing the number of tornado's.

We were supposed to have a La Nina last winter (I dunno if it happened or not) which is why they were predicting a cold winter.

However, the jet-stream went north and parked itself in Canada, this is what caused the unusually warm winter this year. This isn't something they could have predicted would happen.

Cherylm

Are you saying that the excess green house gases being emmitted into the atm have no affect at all?

You want to curb global warming? Kill off half of the human population. Our bodies put out an insane amount of heat (relatively speaking).

cherylLM- you sound a little simple so let me explain it in simple terms. we burn about 3 empire state building filled with fuel every day. that is more than a few cups of gas... now so you can personally understand it, dump a few cups of gas over yourself and light a match. believe it or not- you will get hotter as will the room you are in if you do this inside your house. yes you room might get colder and warmer throughout the year, but lighting the gas certainly adds to the heat- very fast. now multiply that times 3 empire state buildings worth and you will have a better understanding of what the earth is suffering from. oh, and by the way- do that every day for dozens and dozens of years.

do you understand a little better now.

ps- i was being sarcastic about setting yourself on fire.

Al Roker is a bit more than a mere "NBC weatherman". He's a noted name in weather.

As is Greg Forbes (also quoted, and one of the pre-eminent tornado researchers alive, and the developer, or a co-developer of TWC's Tor-Con index, which is quite good and useful. He ALSO helped with the refining of the Fujita system to the new EF (enhance-Fujita) system).

THE EARTH IS SLOWING IN ROTATION...

The Earth is slowing in rotation & LEAP SECONDS are added to the clock sometimes two seconds per year to compensate.

The slowing rotation affects the formation of the WIND WELLS that form as the AIR COLUMN presses down on the Earth as it spins & the DRAG EFFECT at the proper speed creates the wind cells. BUT now that the Earth is slow in rotational speed the WIND-cells are becoming erratic and changing the jet stream, easterly, westerly, trade winds, 1 to 5 hurricanes on the planet per week, a new hurricane belt off of the coast of Brazil.

As the Earth continues to slow in rotation the winds will increase in erractic behaviors with incredible forces we have never seen before...IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR!

Eddie: interesting thought(s). thumbs up.

I don't kow, Eddie. That sounds a lttle far fetched. That's quite a bit of rotational inertia to overcome.

That rotation has been slowing for the entirety of man's history and long before, and at the same rate the entire time. It has a very limited effect on weather pattern changes year to year.

Well I have a queston: What was a day length 1 million years ago caompared to a day length now. This will give an idea of how fast the rotation of the earrth is slowing.

The Earth's rotation is only slowing by about 1 second per year (out of 31.5 million seconds in a year) per century ... and several recent years haven't needed a leap second at all. Any effect on weather patterns of this slight slowing are negligible, except over very long periods of time.

The Earth is slowing in rotation & LEAP SECONDS are added to the clock sometimes two seconds per year to compensate.

yes the earth is slowing, it's call tidal acceleration. But the rate of decay is NOT 2 seconds per year, it's roughly 2 milliseconds (2/1000th of a second) every century. This is not entirely known accurately, but needless to say, it's small.

Hardly a rate fast enough to massively effect climate. I'll stick with the greenhouse effect, thank you.

and several recent years haven't needed a leap second at all.

I believe they added a second in 1998 and 2005, and there hasn't been one added since as far as I know.

One of the main points was that we've had more and more severe tornadoes this season than normal for this point in the season.

We also had a record tornado season last year.

Are the occurrences of them increasing? Probably not. Is this a disturbing start to tornado season 2012? Yes.

The only deadly outbreak on your list that occurred after the invention of doplar radar happened in 2011. The others may have been deadly simply because the people had no warning that there was a tornado coming. THe fact that there was plenty of warning in 2011 and you still had a huge loss of life is a testement to the strength and destructiveness of that storm.

The fact that there have been double the average number of tornadoes in the first three months of this year is unusual. And it is most likely due to El Nina and the extremely warm weather we have had this winter and so far this spring.

As the population in these areas grow, I would say we will be lucky not to see more dates on your list.

BULL ...SORRY, but we get 2000+ tornadoes per year now every year.

THE EARTH IS SLOWING IN ROTATION...

The Earth is slowing in rotation & LEAP SECONDS are added to the clock sometimes two seconds per year to compensate.

The slowing rotation affects the formation of the WIND WELLS that form as the AIR COLUMN presses down on the Earth as it spins & the DRAG EFFECT at the proper speed creates the wind cells. BUT now that the Earth is slow in rotational speed the WIND-cells are becoming erratic and changing the jet stream, easterly, westerly, trade winds, 1 to 5 hurricanes on the planet per week, a new hurricane belt off of the coast of Brazil.

As the Earth continues to slow in rotation the winds will increase in erractic behaviors with incredible forces we have never seen before...IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR!

When averages over the past century are used to document the number of tornadoes per year it should be remembered that the number of tornadoes during the Dust Bowl period was down considerably because that persistent climate situation did not allow thunderstorms, and thereby tornadoes, to form in the numbers they usually would. Also, the number of severe storm spotters and chasers was incredibly small compared to today, where anyone with a camera (not to mention computers with access to satellite and doppler information) and a taste for adventure are out in masses tracking and documenting tornadoes.

Eddie, you are just spamming the same text all over. Cut it out. You are not contributing to the conversation by doing that.

ModerateNSC--Doppler radar has been used in Oklahoma since 1981. The May 3 tornado in Oklahoma in the 1990s was just as destructive as the one in 2011 in Joplin. In fact, it might have been more powerful. The difference is that people in Oklahoma are more used to tornadoes, while people in Joplin and Alabama are less used to them. One does have to allow for the degree to which the population knows how to react when a disaster strikes.

It is the unusual location of recent tornadoes that is contributing to the large number of deaths. People don't bother to build tornado shelters in parts of the country that rarely get them. Doppler is only a small part of the equation.

You obviously did not read the article. The only mention of possible global warming is in the last two sentences. One referring to scientist who say extreme whether will increase if global temperatures continues, which no one denies. Warmer temperatures will equal more and stronger storms. And one stating very specifically that one season or one year does not make a pattern and therefore this may be another aberrent year. The only other mentions of warm temperatures is noting that this has been a very warm winter and spring. At no time does the article attribute the warmer temperatures to global warming or CO2 levels in the air.

And yes, when you have twice the average number of tornadoes three months in a row, that does make for an "unusual" start to the season.

Stop claiming that an article is alarmist when it is not.

Thank you for thinking this through so clearly ModerateNSC; clearly the climate change deniers are jumping on any hint of weather reporting that might suggest human-induced climate change. Of course, the planet is warming, that is factually observed.

I agree marge, so are hurricanes, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, etc etc *shrug* it is what it is and we just have to get through them the best that we can.

NO NO THAT WAS THE TRADITIONAL REASON WHY, BUT NO LONGER APPLIES. You need to think differently because they happen more & more ALL YEAR ROUND!

THE EARTH IS SLOWING IN ROTATION...this is a FACT!!!

The Earth is slowing in rotation & LEAP SECONDS are added to the clock sometimes two seconds per year to compensate.

The slowing rotation affects the formation of the WIND WELLS that form as the AIR COLUMN presses down on the Earth as it spins & the DRAG EFFECT at the proper speed creates the wind cells. BUT now that the Earth is slow in rotational speed the WIND-cells are becoming erratic and changing the jet stream, easterly, westerly, trade winds, 1 to 5 hurricanes on the planet per week, a new hurricane belt off of the coast of Brazil.

As the Earth continues to slow in rotation the winds will increase in erractic behaviors with incredible forces we have never seen before...IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR!

The change in rotation speed is only about 1 part in 30 million (about 1 second per year).

And, you have a point, or you don't. Which is it?

"Some religious nut-job will find a way to get the victims in the bible belt which is also the tornado highway of the US, to blame feminists, Obama, gays and atheists for God's vengeance on them."

In the Old Testament, God smote "evil doers" directly. One would think that He could do the same today, and just hurl lightening bolts at the White House or at gay pride parades. Instead, He shows His exceeding great displeasure by leveling churches and communities of God fearing believers, survivors of which crawl out of the rubble, thanking Him for His mercy. I do in fact believe in Deity, but not "this one".

God HATES right wing NUT jobs (aka republicans) who claim to speak in HIS name. Why do you think there are SO many tornados down there!!