Using "Twisters" to Hype Global Warming

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You knew global warming alarmists couldn't resist. 
"Twisters" publicity shot

According to an article in Nature, the new movie Twisters comes out Friday and mostly "gets the science right" about tornadoes and climate change. I have not seen the movie yet (really looking forward to it) and so I am relying on the Nature article to clarify the science. 
  • Tornado Alley Has Shifted to the Southeast Where the Threat is Higher Due to Mobile Homes and Other Factors. This is old news. How old? 49 Years! In 1975, Dr. Ted Fujita, along with co-authors Allen Pearson and David Ludlum, documented that tornado alley "shifts," primarily from the Great Plains to the Southeast. Their data went back to 1916. So far in 2024, the Great Plains have had a big tornado year with the Southeast much below normal.
  • Phased Array Radar. This is not used in real time. It is a research test product and have been in test mode at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) almost since the original Twister was released. While the current generation of radars (installed 1992-1996, the latter the year of release for Twister) fails at ever-increasing rates, the National Weather Service and NSSL keep waiting for some technological breakthrough that would justify the staggering expense of installing phased array across the country in sufficient numbers. 
  • Fewer Days, More Tornadoes on Those Days. The Nature article brings out the silly canard that there are fewer days with tornadoes (probably true) but there are more tornadoes on the days when tornadoes occur. My first reaction has always been, "Who cares?" Why, if the total number of tornadoes is not increasing and most of those "additional" tornadoes are very small, does it matter? Most of those tornadoes never would have made it into the records prior to storm chasers and/or Doppler radar.
Tescott (Kansas) Tornado

Here are the Facts!
  1. Violent Tornadoes are Much Less Frequent Than 50 or 70 years Ago. This appears both in a simple graphic of NOAA's official tornado numbers and in a peer-reviewed paper. This is exactly what classic scientific theory pertaining to climate change (poles warming more quickly than tropics) would yield. 
  2. Total Tornado Damage is Down. Using a peer-reviewed technique, you'll find that information here. 
Finally.....
There appears to be a scene in the movie where a character(s) takes shelter from a tornado under a bridge. That is highly, highly dangerous (people have been killed). Please don't do it! If a tornado is approaching you in the open, get away from any vehicles and get into a ditch or low area on the side of the road away from the approaching storm. 

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