News Climate

Central American fires may intensify U.S. tornadoes

Smoky air lowers cloud ceiling and segregates winds

Tornado

WILD WHIRLWIND   Smoke drifting north from Central America may strengthen tornadoes like this one in North America, new research suggests.

clintspencer/istock

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

Smoke wafting across the Gulf of Mexico from Central America can help spawn intense twisters in and around North America’s Tornado Alley, new research suggests.

Reconstructing the extreme April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak, which sired 122 twisters across the Southeastern United States, researchers found that smoke particles in the atmosphere further enhanced conditions already favorable for intense tornado formation.