Today’s Climate Change Poster Collection highlights Thunderstorms. Over the past four decades, the central United States has seen a significant increase in the coverage of severe thunderstorm winds. This worrying trend is believed to be a direct result of human-caused climate change. It’s not just the frequency of these storms that is concerning, but also the sheer scale of their impact.
The area affected by straight-line winds, winds as damaging as tornadoes, has expanded fivefold since the early 1980s. Consequently, this has led to an average of 26 deaths and a staggering $2.5 billion in damages annually in the U.S. The most devastating of these windstorms are derechos, which have winds comparable to hurricanes. One such derecho that occurred in August 2020 resulted in a whopping $7.5 billion in damages, marking it as the costliest severe thunderstorm event in U.S history.
However, understanding the impact of climate change on severe thunderstorms is a complex task. This is primarily due to two key reasons: the difficulty in assessing wind and the limitations of computerized climate models. Despite these challenges, some studies have reported that maximum wind speeds are increasing by 2.58 percent per decade. While this is a critical finding, more research is required for confirmation and to make future predictions.
Climate change is not just causing havoc with severe thunderstorms, it has also led to an increase in extreme weather events worldwide. A prime example of this is the rise in tornadoes, which occur most frequently in the U.S, particularly in the aptly named “Tornado Alley.” However, tornado patterns are changing, with fewer tornado days but more occurrences of multiple tornadoes in a single day. Moreover, there’s a geographical shift occurring, with tornadoes moving away from the traditional “Tornado Alley.”
Despite the uncertainties that cloud our understanding of these events, it’s clear that global warming and increased moisture due to climate change will continue to impact extreme weather events, including tornadoes. The specific consequences, however, remain unknown. As climate change continues to reshape our world, it’s vital to continue studying these extreme weather phenomena in order to better anticipate and prepare for their effects.
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