Do You Wonder, How Does Global Warming Affect The Weather? Atlanta Tornado Is A Part Of The Answer

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There’s an old saying in the Northern Hemisphere which is supposed to help us deal with the chronic recurrence of killer storm events during the first calendar quarter of each year: Spring comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

Like you, in the age of global warming, I find it of no comfort when I see nearly constant news coverage of natural disasters, especially those which leave shattered lives in their wake. The Atlanta tornado of mid-March 2008 and its accompanying weather disturbances compelled me back to a question, though. How does global warming affect the weather?

The simple answer is that it disrupts the planet’s natural ability to regulate itself. As I explained in recent threads, hurricanes and tornados are one of the ways in which our atmosphere dissipates excess energy caused by the temperature differentials which occur every single day of the year as the Earth orbits the sun. However, global warming causes those differentials to fluctuate abnormally.

As a result, the planet’s regulatory mechanism at times must intensify the frequency, intensity and size of the storms in order to achieve the same result. Global warming also brings about the need for killer storms to occur in places where historically they seldom have. The Atlanta tornado is but one example. Many of the other misplaced but deadly storms which have made headlines this decade were hurricanes but the Atlanta tornado is a poignant example of more to come.

Surely, though, there must be other factors to explain why the Atlanta tornado seemingly came out of nowhere and exerted such force in a dense urban area, right? Yes, that is true and next time, I will cover the importance of wind break trees and the results of urban deforestation.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler