Tornadoes Leave Trail of Destruction in Oklahoma

Tornado in Oklahoma
Teresa Otto / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
Why you can trust us

Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

At least one person has died and a dozen people have been injured as a fast moving storm system made its way across the Texas Panhandle and into Oklahoma earlier this week. Weather services classified the storm as a derecho – a large, fast-moving, violent thunderstorm paired with exceptionally strong winds.

“I got up and then the wind just threw me back. And I’m screaming,” Frances Tabler of Norman, Oklahoma, told KOCO. “It was like a blizzard inside the house.” The storm toppled trees and power lines leaving more than 16,000 without power as more than 100 other storm reports were recorded in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.

Climate change is making the conditions necessary for derechos to occur more likely, as it leads to additional latent heat available in warmer air, and an increase in the temperature gradient, which increases available potential energy.

For a Deeper Dive:

ABC NewsCBS NewsNew York TimesYale Climate ConnectionsReuters, Photos: Washington Post, Derecho explainer: Climate Signals

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, sign up for daily Hot News, and visit their news site, Nexus Media News.

Learn More About Solar Energy From EcoWatch

Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

    By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

    Read More

    Biden Admin Takes ‘Long Overdue’ Steps to Limit Methane Emissions From Drilling on Public and Tribal Lands
    The United States Department of the Interior has announced a
    By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    ‘Climate Change Is Changing the Geography of Wine,’ Study Finds
    More heat waves and unpredictable rainfall could destroy vineyards from
    By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Brazil and France 'Join Forces' With $1.1 Billion Green Investment Plan for Amazon Rainforest
    French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula
    By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Latest Articles