On April 27, 2011, some 200 terrifying twisters touched down across the Southeast — the most on record in a single day. Damages topped $11 billion, and 316 people died. (The devastation on April 27 was the worst of a four-day tornado outbreak spanning April 25 through April 28.)
The hardest hit states were Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, which were struck by 15 tornadoes ranked EF-4 or higher on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. There were also four powerful EF-5 tornadoes — the highest possible tornado ranking — as severe storms raked through these states.
Researchers now say that air pollution intensified this incredible tornado outbreak.
However, the study notes that the twisters were primarily caused by the storms, not by smoke. "The smoke is not responsible for this outbreak," said Pablo Saide, lead study author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Iowa's Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research. "The main driver is the environmental conditions — the temperature and the wind profiles."
During the tornado outbreak, a satellite recorded high levels of smoke.
The pollution included soot and aerosol.
Testing the effects with climate models that add smoke to large-scale storm simulations could further explain how aerosols enhance tornadoes.
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Link to article: http://www.livescience.com/49681-severe-tornadoes-air-pollution-linked.html
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