Tornadoes form through various severe thunderstorms, with most being the result of supercell storms, which are rare but intense systems with rotating vertical clouds. Central North America is a global hotspot for tornadoes due to the Rocky Mountains to the west and hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, which create ideal conditions for powerful thunderstorms.
Recent research published in the journal Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences has suggested that the smooth ocean-like surface in the U.S. could explain why it has the most tornadoes. Newsweek reported on this finding on June 20.
Tornadoes can form through various severe thunderstorms, with most being the result of supercell storms, which are rare but intense systems with rotating vertical clouds. Central North America is a global hotspot for tornadoes due to the Rocky Mountains to the west and hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico, which create ideal conditions for powerful thunderstorms. South America has similar conditions with the Andes to the west and hot, humid air from the Amazon basin, but experiences fewer tornadoes.
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that ground roughness in areas above thunderstorm hotspots affects tornado risk. Understanding why tornado hotspots arise is important for predicting how they will change with climate change as a warming climate is making ideal conditions for extreme storms worse. However, tornadoes are still difficult to predict accurately leading to uncertainties about their impacts.