Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Tornadoes Are Moving Further and Further East, and Experts Believe Climate Change Is the Culprit

Another thing to worry about.

Tornadoes are cropping up farther eastward in the U.S. than ever before, according to a study published in October in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science.

While the Midwestern region known colloquially as “tornado alley” — parts of northern Texas into Oklahoma and Kansas into Nebraska — is still No. 1 in terms of twister frequency, tornadoes are now becoming common in Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and even Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and parts of Ohio and Michigan.


Experts are particularly concerned, as these areas tend to be more densely populated than tornado alley, which comprises more rural terrain. There is also a higher concentration of residents living in mobile homes — structures more vulnerable to damage — and tornadoes tend to occur more often at night in Southern states because they are derived from thunderstorms, which occur most commonly in the evening because solar heating leads to atmospheric instability.

Victor Gensini, professor of atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University, and Harold Brooks of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, OK, analyzed weather data dating back to 1979, charting moisture, unstable air and wind-change direction — elements necessary for tornadoes.

What they eventually found was a steady reduction of moisture in the Great Plains, thereby reducing and in some cases eliminating a crucial ingredient for tornado formation. Twisters are typically formed along what’s called the “dry line,” where dry air meets moist air, and one thing was starkly evident: The “dry line” is moving east.

Why? Experts can certainly wager a guess.

“This is super consistent with climate change,” said Gensini. “This is what you would expect in a climate change scenario, we just have no way of confirming it at the moment.”

According to the study, approximately 1,200 tornadoes occur in the U.S. every year, causing $5.4 billion worth of damage from hail and high winds and killing around 70 people.

On Oct. 24, at least three tornadoes touched down in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Tornadoes are “virtually unheard of” in the Cape Cod area — the Massachusetts tornado was the first seen in the Bay State since 1977.

Unfortunately, according to another study published in October in Science Daily, even these events may not be enough to convince climate change skeptics, whose beliefs were found to remain largely impervious to facts.

“Extreme weather plays a limited long-term role in forming people's beliefs about climate change,” noted lead study author Dr. Ben Lyons, of the University of Exeter.

He added: “[The study] shows people's perception of extreme weather can be processed through partisan lenses. This means efforts to connect extreme events with climate change may do more to rally those with liberal beliefs than convince those with more conservative views that humans are having an impact on the climate. However, it's important to note that we take a big-picture look rather than focus on specific events. Particularly intense events — a 100-year flood or catastrophic hurricane — might be most capable of influencing attitudes."

More from News

Pedro Pascal
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Pedro Pascal Goes To Bat For Trans People Once Again At 'Fantastic Four' Premiere

When it comes to Pedro Pascal, we made the right person famous.

During the Berlin red carpet premiere of Pascal's latest film, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pedro Pascal advocated once again for transgender people and transgender rights, citing their community as inspiring.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cal Raleigh
Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Yankees announcers react to player's NSFW nickname!

During a game against the Mariners on Tuesday night, Yankees fans found out why Seattle star Cal Raleigh is nicknamed “Big Dumper.”

The moment was caught on YES Network’s broadcast of the game in the sixth inning while Raleigh was on first base with the Yankees leading 10-3.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Joseph Boakai and Donald Trump
NBC News

Trump Dragged After Praising English Skills Of President Of Liberia—Where English Is The Official Language

President Donald Trump was called out after he praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai’s command of English—embarrassingly unaware that English is the official language of Liberia.

Boakai had been delivering a speech during a meeting with other African leaders at the White House on Wednesday in which he remarked that Liberia is "a long-time friend of the United States and we believe in your policy of making America great again."

Keep ReadingShow less
Alex Cooper singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame'
@MBDChicago/Twitter (X)

'Call Her Daddy' Host Alex Cooper Gets Brutally Booed At Wrigley Field After Painfully Off-Key Singing

If there's one thing that all baseball fans can come together about, it's the importance of their traditions—and songs.

In the seventh inning at Wrigley Field during a match between the Cubs and the Cardinals, popular Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper was invited to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and brought two backup dancers with her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Linda Yaccarino
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

X CEO Resigns Day After AI Chatbot Grok Praised Hitler In Alarming Series Of Antisemitic Tweets

Linda Yaccarino—the former NBC Universal executive who later took the reins at X—stepped down as CEO of billionaire Elon Musk's platform after two years on the job just a day after Grok, the platform's AI chatbot, went on antisemitic rants and openly praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok issued deeply antisemitic responses on Tuesday following a reported software update that encouraged the bot to embrace what developers described as the “politically incorrect.” Taking that directive to heart, Grok responded with a series of disturbing posts that included praise for Hitler and even a statement expressing its aspiration to become a “digital version” of the Nazi leader.

Keep ReadingShow less