Why so many killer tornadoes?

After a brutal one-two punch of twisters, the debate over a possible link between climate change and deadly weather begins anew

A Missouri mother and daughter pick through the wreckage left by a deadly tornado: A recent string of killer storms has environmentalists blaming climate change.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Rescuers are still searching for survivors in Joplin, Mo., where at least 116 people were killed by the deadliest tornado to hit the U.S. since 1953. The massive twister — which was up to three-quarters of a mile wide — struck just weeks after several tornadoes struck six southern states, killing at least 314 people, most of them in Alabama. That was the worst death toll from multiple storms since 1925. Weather experts were at a loss to explain the deadly flurry of tornadoes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had found no link between the recent storms and climate change. Environmentalists disagree. Is global warming to blame?

Of course climate change is fueling killer weather: "These tornadoes are not originating from Oz," says Gregg Easterbrook at Reuters. The onslaught isn't some "unexpected bolt out of the blue" — it's an entirely predictable result of climate change. And "despite what the talk radio and Tea Party types say, there is strong scientific consensus that human activity has begun to alter Earth’s climate." We deny the evidence at our peril.

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