14 DAY TRIAL // An investigation carried out by Standford University researchers and their colleagues has revealed that, over the next century, the number of severe thunderstorms that hit the United States is likely to up to a considerable extent.
The scientists say this will happen due to the fact that climate change and global warming will toy with weather conditions and transform them in such ways that said types of storms will have a much easier time forming.
Specifically, the researchers say that, thanks to global warming, there will be a lot more convective available potential energy (CAPE, for short) in the atmosphere.
The increase in atmospheric CAPE will be due to the fact that the lower atmosphere will start to warm. As it does so, it will move upwards, dragging with it quite a lot of moisture.
This atmospheric moisture and atmospheric energy will interact with wind currents, thus leading to the formation of severe thunderstorms, the Stanford University scientists say.
As specialist Noah Diffenbaugh puts it, “We're seeing that global warming produces more days with high CAPE and sufficient shear to form severe thunderstorms.”
The researchers say that, according to the climate model they pieced together, severe thunderstorm frequency in the US will chiefly increase during the springtime.
Thus, about two-and-a-half more such extreme weather manifestations are expected to hit areas of about 60 square miles (96.5 kilometers) during this time of the year.
The scientists explain that, all things considered, this increase in the number of severe thunderstorms that hit said country on a yearly basis is likely to have a devastating impact on the country's economy.
“The severe thunderstorms we experience now can result in very high economic losses. Sadly, we have many examples of cases where a single storm has had disastrous impact. So a 25 or 30 percent increase in the annual occurrence represents a substantial increase in the overall risk,” study leader Noah Diffenbaugh stresses.