"WASHINGTON — The calendar said December but the warm moist air screamed of springtime. Add an eastbound storm front guided by a La Nina weather pattern into that mismatch and it spawned tornadoes that killed dozens over five U.S. states.
Tornadoes in December are unusual, but not unheard of. B ut the ferocity and path length of Friday night’s tornadoes likely put them in a category of their own, meteorologists say. One of the twisters — if it is confirmed to have been just one — likely broke a nearly 100-year-old record for how long a tornado stayed on the ground in a path of destruction, experts said.
“One word: remarkable; unbelievable would be another,” s aid Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini. “It was really a late spring type of setup in in the middle of December.”
Warm weather was a crucial ingredient in this tornado outbreak, but whether climate change is a factor is not quite as clear, meteorologists say."
Suman Naishadham and Seth Borenstein report for the Associated Press December 11, 2021.
SEE ALSO:
"A Warming World Could Add More Fuel To Tornadoes, Scientists Say" (Washington Post)
"How The Climate Crisis Is Affecting Tornadoes" (CNN)
"Biden Calls on EPA to Investigate Role Of Climate Crisis In Deadly Tornadoes" (Guardian)
"Catastrophic December Tornadoes Slam Mid-Mississippi Valley" (Yale Climate Connections)
"FEMA Official Warns Bigger Tornadoes the 'New Normal,' Linked to Climate Change" (Newsweek)
"What Is the Link Between Climate Change and the Historic Tornadoes?" (New York)
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