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Daemonaquila

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11. We won't be able to say for many years, when we have enough of a pattern.

Mon May 20, 2013, 05:08 PM

May 2013

NOAA has been tracking tornado strength since the 1950s. If you look at the F5 data (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f5torns.html), it's hard to draw a hard conclusion. There are none listed for 2012, but 6 listed for 2011 during that spate of nasty storms. 1974 also was a banner year. Weather DOES seem to be more extreme - hot, cold, rainy, dry, stormy - around the world, but those trends are pretty recent. A blip or a harbinger of things to come? We will have to watch, wait, and develop better forecasting methods.

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So is this just the extreme edge of "normal" tornado activity, or part of climate change's [View all] villager May 2013 OP

I was in an F5 in 1956 in ND. There have always been big bad ones, wondering also if it is changing uppityperson May 2013 #1

I guess that's a way to refine the question: Are there going to be *more* big bad ones now villager May 2013 #3

Like you, having been through an F5 in 1966 MuseRider May 2013 #6

There have always been huge, destructive tornadoes. The Velveteen Ocelot May 2013 #2

Weather has been getting more extreme because of climate change. Gravitycollapse May 2013 #4

I also realize you can't necessarily blame *one* storm on climate change -- but the pattern will be villager May 2013 #5

They've been saying the horrific one that hit Moore, OK, has followed the path Rhiannon12866 May 2013 #7

Oddly enough, this year got off to a slow start - hedgehog May 2013 #8

It's part of climate change. Cleita May 2013 #9

Glad to hear you got lucky, but....Hartmann was definitely dead wrong on this one, sad to say. nt AverageJoe90 May 2013 #21

The snow is melting off the Andes, the poles and the Himalayas. Cleita May 2013 #28

What disinfo? AverageJoe90 May 2013 #30

He doesn't pull stuff out of his ass. Cleita May 2013 #32

My admittedly limited understanding of climate science is as follows: antigone382 May 2013 #10

If we can get the Republicans out of the house, it'd be a major boost to progress, I'd think. AverageJoe90 May 2013 #24

We won't be able to say for many years, when we have enough of a pattern. Daemonaquila May 2013 #11

I've been saying the same thing for a while now. AverageJoe90 May 2013 #25

Snow melting off the poles and highest mountains in the world. Cleita May 2013 #29

F5 in Central Texas Texasgal May 2013 #12

I don't think this is anything new... rl6214 May 2013 #13

climate change redqueen May 2013 #14

I totally believe in climate change! Texasgal May 2013 #15

oh yes, i agree... definitely redqueen May 2013 #16

Scientists believe in climate change or rather they know it's happening with those Cleita May 2013 #31

Nah, they haven't changed all that much. Not yet, anyway. n/t AverageJoe90 May 2013 #20

... redqueen May 2013 #22

Did you read the P.S., btw? AverageJoe90 May 2013 #23

The trend is not up. It may even be slightly down. These tornados have always existed. DesMoinesDem May 2013 #17

Is it just me, or is there a kind of pattern to that graph? Occulus May 2013 #26

Moore, OK in 1999 had one measured at 318 mph, the highest wind speed ever recorded FarCenter May 2013 #18

TBH, climate change may have played a small role.....but this was definitely always possible.... AverageJoe90 May 2013 #19

For chrissakes, it's not even summer yet and tornado season is Cleita May 2013 #33

I assume you meant to say late, right? AverageJoe90 May 2013 #34

Too early to tell. n/t hrmjustin May 2013 #27

Probably so. Still wouldn't hurt to keep compiling data, though. n/t AverageJoe90 May 2013 #36

Oh sure. I think it is easier to tell with Hurricanes if it is Global Warming. hrmjustin May 2013 #37

Moving the mean zipplewrath May 2013 #35

It's like blaming a particular cancer on a particular cigarette daleo May 2013 #38