In this aerial view of Kentucky, homes are shown badly destroyed after a tornado ripped through the area. The image was taken by Scott Olson.
The violent storms that ripped through the Midwest will go down in history as some of the worst.
There were more than 30 tornadoes reported across six states overnight, with one of them carving out a path of destruction about 400 kilometers long, according to the National Weather Service. If it was a single entity, it would be the longest path of a single tornado in US history, as well as the first quad-tornado.
CNN reported that the death toll in Kentucky could rise to more than 70. The collapse of a candle factory, an Amazon warehouse, and a nursing home in Arkansas were all caused by tornadoes, according to CNN.
When cold air collides with warm, moist air, tornadoes form. The warm air creates an updraft. A spinning storm can be caused by winds pushing air from side to side. Supercells are the strongest types of storms. It isn't always enough to make a tornado. The air near the ground must sink and rise in order for that to happen, according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
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The severe storms that produced the tornado outbreak were tracked by the #GoES16 There were more than 30 tornadoes reported in 6 states. The most severe and deadly tornado event in Kentucky history was called by the governor.
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The warm weather in the Midwest this week is a sign that climate change is rearing its head, the Post reported.
The National Weather Service has yet to release a severity rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale for the quad-state tornado, but the damage suggests it was on the upper end. The Post reported that debris was flung more than 30,000 feet into the air and homes were destroyed.
Jeff Masters, a former Hurricane scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that the violent tornado that hit last night was one of the most shocking weather events in his 40 years as a meteorologist.
Residents of tornado-prone regions need to be alert beyond the tornado season, which usually peaks in the spring, because of the recent string of intense tornadoes. Friday's disaster should make people rethink the idea that tornado season is limited to spring. In a climate where winter warm spells are getting warmer, residents of the world's most tornado-prone nation have to be vigilant year round.
Live Science published the original article.
