Repeat deadly storms "unusual but not unknown"
NewsCentral Staff
Story Created:
May 24, 2011 at 9:21 AM EDT
Story Updated:
May 24, 2011 at 5:30 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) - Experts say it's unusual for deadly tornadoes to develop weeks apart in the U.S. But what makes the tornadoes
that barreled through a Missouri city and the South in the last month so rare is that populated areas took direct hits.
The tornado in Joplin, Mo., on Sunday killed at least 116 people in the deadliest single tornado in almost six decades. Twisters
that swept through the South last month killed more than 300.
University of Oklahoma researcher Howard Bluestein says such a pair of weather events is "unusual but not unknown." He says
tornado-appropriate weather sometimes lingers over a wide area. That's what's happening this year.
Experts say urban sprawl has increased the odds that tornadoes will affect more people. Forecasters have little time to determine
a tornado's path.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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