WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New research indicates that sea surface temperatures thousands of miles away may help meteorologists predict tornado outbreaks one to three months ahead.
Currently, tornado outbreaks are predicted up to seven days in advance. Extending severe weather outlooks beyond seven days will give communities much needed time to prepare.
'This is very exciting research because it can have a direct impact on saving people's lives and minimizing damages,' said Sang-Ki Lee of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab, the lead author of the new study. It has been published online in Environmental Research Letters.
Lee started his tornado research shortly after the United States' deadliest tornado outbreak in 2011, which took the lives of 553 people, and left $28 billion in damages.
Scientists at NOAA noticed the extreme outbreak in 2011 coincided with a strong La Niña in the Pacific Ocean and wondered if there was a connection..
Examining historic data on tornadoes and El Niño and La Niña, Lee and his colleagues found a high probability of tornado outbreaks occurring in distinct regions for each of the four dominant spring patterns of El Niño and La Niña variations.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX