CHARLOTTE, N.C. â Is the devastating tornado outbreak that hit Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois a sign of things to come?
The National Weather Service's storm reports made it clear that the tornadoes were strong enough to cause "catastrophic" damage and dozens of deaths.
The tornadoes we saw over the weekend were unlike any of the weather events we normally see in December. Tornadoes are not unheard of this time of year, but they can happen when the conditions are exactly right. And that's what we saw Friday night into Saturday.
Let's connect the dots.
Warm and moist air driving in from the South ahead of a strong cold front created the key parameter, wind shear -- this is what causes storms to rotate. This perfect environment led to what could be the longest tornado path in US history and the deadliest December tornado outbreak on record.
So is climate change to blame? Researchers say it's hard to pin any individual weather event on the larger climate picture. But the conditions we saw this weekend are what scientists have been warning us about. A new study from Advancing Earth and Space Science found that as temperatures increase, so do the key ingredients for severe weather outbreaks.
Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes. With an average distance of about 3 1/2 miles. Showing how rare this event was and sadly, with the new normal, it could easily happen again.
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