Tornadoes are rare in December but are not unheard of. Nonetheless, the recent Kentucky tornado outbreak shocked everyone, especially it left at least 100 people, destroyed homes, businesses, and even buried some survivors beneath the rubble. Officials said that the swarm of tornadoes damaged about 200 miles across the US from the midwest to the south.
Experts said the ferocity and path of the tornadoes likely put them in their category. The warm moist air added with an eastbound storm front by La Niña weather pattern likely fueled the tornadoes that broke a nearly century-old record for the amount of time a tornado stayed on the ground. Figuring out whether it is caused by climate change or not will help prepare for the future.
MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY - DECEMBER 11: An aerial view of homes and businesses destroyed by a tornado on December 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Kentucky. Multiple tornadoes touched down in several midwestern states late Friday evening, causing widespread destruction and leaving an estimated 70-plus people dead. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
A Night of Tornadoes in Kentucky
Reuters reported that the night when the swarm of tornadoes hit Kentucky was the most destructive in the state's history. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said that around 40 workers of a candle factory in Mayfield were rescued out of the 110 people that are said to be under the pile of rubble.
He pointed out that he had never seen destruction such as this, and it would be a miracle to find anyone alive under the debris. He said during a press conference that it is very likely that over 100 people have lost their lives in the disaster.
They have already deployed rescue teams to focus on the large part of Mayfield, which has 10,000 people. Residents have also shared videos and photos of the area after the tornado, showing that buildings in downtown Mayfield have flattened, and parked cars were nearly buried under the debris.
Even the fire station was destroyed during the event. Mayfield Fire Chief Jeremy Creason said that the extent of the damage in the candle factory was diminished to a pile of bent metal and steel as well as machinery in which rescuers had to crawl on the casualties to reach the survivors.
According to Reuters, the tornado began with a series of overnight thunderstorms that included a supercell storm forming in northeast Arkansas before moving to Missouri and into Tennessee and Kentucky. US President Joe Biden said that he would ask the Environmental Protection Agency whether climate change played a significant role in this historic disaster.
How Do Tornadoes Form?
According to National Geographic, tornadoes are sometimes called twisters born in thunderstorms and often accompanied by hail. Their winds could spin as fast as 250 miles per hour and clear a pathway of up to 50 miles.
The US is a major hot spot for tornadoes, wherein they even have a "Tornado Alley" that includes Nebraska, Kansa, South Dakota, eastern Colorado, Oklahoma, and northern Texas. These places are the most common region that is usually visited by twisters.
Tornadoes are formed when warm, humid air collides with cold, dry air. But the most violent ones happen every once in a thousand storms and come from supercells and large thunderstorms with winds already in rotation. Twisters can happen any time of the day and year, but it usually follows a specific season, such as late summer and late afternoon when the Sun has already heated the ground, and the atmosphere can produce thunderclouds.
The Role of Climate Change in Tornadoes
Meteorologists are studying a few factors that may have led to the Kentucky tornado outbreak last week. Phys.org reported that the spring-like conditions across the Midwest and South this month helped bring the warm, moist air needed for the tornadoes to form. National Weather Service meteorologist John Gordon explained that the worst-case scenario happened when warm air meets the cold season.
However, experts said that it is complicated and hard to say that the swarm of tornadoes was caused by climate change. As of now, they are still sorting out many conflicting factors that may have led to the intense tornadoes. The US usually has about 1,200 twisters each year, recording the most number in the world.
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