New research suggests smoke from fires could actually intensify destructive tornadoes.
The findings linked spring agricultural land-clearing fires in Central America to the severity of tornado conditions already in process in the United States, the University of Iowa reported.
"These results are of great importance, as it is the first study to show smoke influence on tornado severity in a real case scenario. Also, severe weather prediction centers do not include atmospheric particles and their effects in their models, and we show that they should at least consider it," said Gregory Carmichael, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering.
Researchers looked at the smoke impacts during a record-breaking severe weather outbreak that took place on April 27, 2011. The event produced 122 tornadoes across the U.S., resulting in 313 deaths. They found smoke particles intensified these conditions by lowering the base of clouds and increasing wind shear, intensifying tornado conditions.
To make these findings the research team ran computer simulations based on data from the historical weather event. One of the simulations focused on how smoke influenced solar radiation and clouds, while others emitted the smoke.
"We show the smoke influence for one tornado outbreak, so in the future we will analyze smoke effects for other outbreaks on the record to see if similar impacts are found and under which conditions they occur," said Pablo Saide, Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) postdoctoral fellow. "We also plan to work along with model developers and institutions in charge of forecasting to move forward in the implementation, testing and incorporation of these effects on operational weather prediction models."
In the future, researchers plan to conduct studies that focus on how smoke influences the intensity and longevity of tornadoes.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Geophysical Researchers Letters.