"Tornado Alley" may be moving to the densely-populated Southeast

[groundloop]

Source: CBS News

The part of the country famous for its Tornado Alley title may be in jeopardy of losing that distinction in the future. A new study says the tornado threat zone is be spreading east to the densely populated southeastern U.S., which could lead to a "threefold increase" in disaster potential. One of the study's authors said climate change could the reason for the creeping of drier air in the Southeast.

The study, conducted by two severe weather researchers, Harold Brooks of NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma and Dr. Victor Gensini of Northern Illinois University, noted a "significant increasing trends (of tornadoes) in portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois."

The increased risk for disaster is due to a combination of a few factors. One of them is this eastward spreading of the tornado threat zone into the Southeast and Midwest. But perhaps the bigger issue is vulnerability.

Some of the vulnerabilities include that in the mid-South the population is denser, meaning more people are exposed. In addition, the additional trees combined with wetter, "rain-wrapped" storms make the tornadoes harder to see.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tornado-alley-may-be-moving-to-southeast-climate-change-noaa-national-severe-storms-laboratory-oklahoma-study/

---

If you're the least bit interested in weather and climate change click on the link and read the entire story.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Sad, but probably a result of climate change...seems very likely. How will the

republican Christians explain this, especially since most of these states went republican in the last presidential election (except Illinois) and that it's the wrath of god, acting against these states for supporting the anti Christ (rump) and not climate change?

Just kidding here. Climate change is serious business and there is literally no time to waste in addressing this serious, life threatening condition for all of humankind.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. NOAA has predicted this some time ago.

Climate Change is for real.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Here in PA, we had more tornadoes this year than OK!!

In the short-term, I think this year was a one-off occurrence but we do get them and they have actually been common in OH for some time... to the point where traveling to Cincinnati for work numerous times over the years, instead of having instructions for escaping a fire on the back of the hotel room doors, the hotels had instructions for dealing with a tornado (like how California hotels had instructions for dealing with an earthquake)!

[Auggie]

4. "Drier weather moving into the Plains States ... "

This alone is frightening, given the amount of food grown in the area.

[Nitram]

6. They've been pumping water out of a huge aquifer at a faster rate than it can recharge.

It may go dry about the same time the rain stops. That could mean desertification in the Plain States.

[NickB79]

11. We've got about 20 yr left

Good bye breadbasket.

[Nitram]

5. Funny how red states attract disastrous weather.

The states that refuse to take steps to combat climate change. Karma's a bitch.

[machoneman]

7. Hah! Good one! n/m

n/m

[Cold War Spook]

8. Big deal about tornados.

The one that hit us spawned by Florence took only half our house. Okay, so it took our shed but that's okay, we now have our neighbor's shed. I don't think I should call them sheds, they are more like twisted metal. This is Onslow county NC. The children went to school 5 days before Labor day, 4 day the week of Labor day and the following Monday. 40 schools in the county of which 29 were damaged.

[Maxheader]

9. Noticing a lot of really early tornado activity down south

Over the last 5 years or so...Late february and early march..

[AwakeAtLast]

10. I have noticed this

I grew up in So. IL and after 25 years away moved back. Storms here are not nearly as bad as they were when I was younger, and I don't fear the sky like I used to. Interesting findings!