Third Day of Tornadoes

A wave of severe weather continued to cut a brutal path across the United States overnight and into today.

In Michigan, three were believed dead after severe storms, including hail and tornadoes, struck northern Michigan last night, according to the Detroit Free Press.

And today, Nappanee, Ind. was struck by severe storms that may be tornadoes, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Three dozen tornadoes were reported since Wednesday, starting in Oklahoma and continuing into Florida and throughout the Mississippi Valley Thursday, not including the storms described above.

Tornadoes and thunderstorms had been thought of as being too localized, as weather events, to tie to larger climatic shifts. But a NASA study this August suggested that a warmer climate would produce more updrafts and keep more heat energy in the atmosphere -- two pre-conditions to strong storms like thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Even so, while the frequency and intensity of these storm events may be likely to increase, no one event can be attributed to a global climatic phenomenon. It could be, though, that this type of "unusual" weather event could become more and more commonplace if the atmosphere continues to warm up.

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