Are The Tornadoes in the South Evidence of Climate Change?

[Yavin4]

I recall that one of the consequences of Climate Change was more, intense storms. However, climatologists are unsure:

"The impacts of climate change on any weather events will likely only be seen in the statistics -- more rainfall that occurs in intense bursts, more overall water vapor, more heat waves, less cool nights," Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, wrote in an email to LiveScience. "But the combination of events that lead to the tornado swarms we've seen are both rare and complex, and to ask climate scientists to pronounce definitively on them the instant they happen is just asking for trouble."

http://www.livescience.com/13933-tornado-storms-climate-change.html

On Edit: This is an example of why true scientists are great. They don't use an event to hype their point of view, unlike the right wing. They could have easily said "Yes, these tornadoes are examples of Climate Change", which is exactly what the right wing does in reverse every time it snows. No, they wait until they can take measurements and do a proper analysis before making any proclamations.

[Lyric]

1. Considering the intensity and number of tornadoes spawned? Probably.

We seem to be seeing a lot of weather "worsts" and history-making storms in recent years. Correlation does not always equal causation...but that's a rather big set of correlative coincidences.

[Viking12]

2. Unfortunately, individual weather events don't come with a label saying, "made by Climate Change"

Whether or not a particular weather event is the result of climate change is impossible to answer. They do, however, contribute to increasing body of data showing that things are fucked up.

[Richardo]

The climate scientist I heard said pretty much the same thing...

...there's no way to tie it directly to climate change. There were 600+ tornadoes reported in April, typical year is ~150. But still, it's a single data point, not an indication of a trend.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Yes, there is not possible way that they are NOT connected to GHGs.

It's just the way things are connected.

Can't escape it.

K/R

[msongs]

4. has it EVER happened before? yep. Is it a once in a 3-4 decade event? yep. nt

[GKirk]

5. EVERYTHING is evidence of global warming...

....my birthday, the royal wedding, hot days, cold days, rainy days and dry days.

[Skidmore]

6. We would like to know about the frost and freezing temps and no

leaves on the trees at the beginning of May here in the Midwest.

[WilliamPitt]

7. Potentially.

But it has happened before.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/4219866

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. Self-Delete

n/t

[Arkansas Granny]

9. I understand that there is a possibility that they are a result of climate change.

There is also a possibility that the radar identification of these storms and the reporting of them is better than it used to be. The tornado outbreak of 1974 spawned 148 confirmed tornadoes, 6 of which were F5, and 315 people lost their lives. Had today's technology been available then, I have no doubt that there would have been more confirmed tornadoes.