Photo: An F4 tornado narrowly misses Seward, NE, 6/13/01April 24, 2007
An active tornado season is in store for parts of the US, according to storm chasers at Texas-based Tempest Tours, Inc., a company known for successfully forecasting and intercepting dozens of tornadoes since 2001. "The latest analysis indicates a continuation of an active jet stream across the south central U.S. We believe the southern branch of the jet will continue to send storm systems from the Southern Plains into the lower and middle Mississippi Valley region for the next several weeks. The systems look like ripples or valleys moving down a rope. As the air over this region continues to warm and moisten, each new system will have a greater chance of producing severe weather." "The lifeblood of severe weather systems and tornadic storms is water vapor and heat energy, and the most significant severe weather outbreaks on the Plains are associated with warm and humid air that has surged northward off of the Gulf (of Mexico) waters. Thus, it appears straightforward that global warming would favor a corresponding increase in severe weather and tornadoes on the Great Plains."
