The average number of tornadoes in the largest cluster outbreaks is now almost double what it was in the 1960s, a new study finds. The researchers say that current climate change models can't account for the trend, but don't rule it out as a cause.
The total number of tornadoes hitting the US has not increased overall in the past 50 years, but the tornadoes are occurring in more concentrated outbreaks, according to a paper published in the journal Science. The effect seems to be confined to the largest clusters, with no noticeable trend in the smaller outbreaks of tornadoes.
The authors of the study found that wind shear was the main factor in increasing the number of tornadoes in large cluster outbreaks.
"We're not saying it isn't climate change, it's just not what we expect from our current understanding," study author Michael Tippet of Colombia University told IBTimes UK.
"That leaves two possibilities: there's a lot we don't understand about climate change and this is part of it, or this variability is not driven by climate change."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/size-extreme-cluster-tornadoes-hitting-us-has-doubled-50-years-no-one-knows-why-1594448
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