Partly the tornado issue is just the luck of where they touch down.

Reader comment on: Tornadoes and Climate Change

Submitted by Lyle (United States), May 24, 2011 17:27

For example the Joplin tornado went 6 miles, shift it 10 or 20 miles east or west and there would be far less damage (since the Joplin Metro area is only 150k people). I have seen speculation that the return period of an ef-4 tornado in that part of the country (i.e. hitting the same location) is more than 5k and perhaps up to 10k years. For example the tornado appears to have hit 1/5 of the city 6 sq mi to 31.5 sq Or to take one of the two counties that Joplin sits in Jasper, thats 641 sq mi so the tornado was about 1% of that area. Recall Greensburg KS that got totally wiped off the map by an Ef-5 tornado in 2007. Again move the tornado a couple of miles and the crops would be all that are affected.


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Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
Climate change... [192 words]Gary Reginald DodgeMay 24, 2011 23:12
sorry to disappoint [64 words]bill mckibbenMay 24, 2011 20:45
McKibben's Goal [68 words]Jerry SkurnikMay 24, 2011 17:28
⇒ Partly the tornado issue is just the luck of where they touch down. [143 words]LyleMay 24, 2011 17:27

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