Climate change linked to strength, frequency of tornadoes

A new study has revealed that climate change may be causing more and deadlier tornadoes that are hitting the US.

According to the research by a Florida State University geography professor, climate change may be playing a key role in the strength and frequency of tornadoes and though tornadoes are forming fewer days per year, they are forming at a greater density and strength than ever before.

James Elsner said that in the past, many researchers dismissed the impact of climate change on tornadoes because there was no distinct pattern in the number of tornado days per year. In 1971, there were 187 tornado days, but in 2013 there were only 79 days with tornadoes.

The United States experiences more tornadoes than any other country, and despite advances in technology and warning systems, they still remain a hazard to residents in storm-prone areas and the 2011 tornado season had nearly 1,700 storms and killed more than 550 people, while so far, in 2014, there have been 189 storms with a death toll of 43, according to the NOAA/National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.

The study was published in the journal Climate Dynamics.