US: Weekend Storms Claim Over 20 Lives

Facts

• At least 23 people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured as a spate of powerful storms swept across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky.¹
• State authorities said the death toll from weekend storms included deaths in Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. At least two children are amongst those killed by a tornado in north Texas on Saturday.²
• That wave of storms left 334K people without power across those five states as well as Kansas.³
• At least 72 reported tornadoes hit a reported 12 states over the weekend, also including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and North Carolina. The Gulf states experienced record or near-record high temperatures.⁴
• There were over 600 reports of storm-related damage across 20 states from tornadoes, wind, and even hail the size of softballs. Powerlines were torn down, cars damaged, and buildings turned to rubble.⁵

Sources: ¹CBS, ²Reuters.com, ³NBC, ⁴ABC News and ⁵CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by BBC News. Climate change is likely increasing the frequency of these devastating storms, as the warming air increases the number of days of weather favorable to tornadoes. The shifting of both the location and duration of these storms can also be expected, with places like the Mid-South and east of the Mississippi River — and their large populations — at greater risk. With tornado season expanding, earlier preparations must be made to save lives.
• Narrative B, as provided by Nationalgeographic. The science is not clear on any correlation between tornados and climate change, and there's no evidence that global warming is causing storms to happen more frequently. While some people claim that climate change is causing twisters to be more intense and more frequent — it could very well be the opposite is true, and that a warming climate may suppress the destructive storms.

Predictions