By: Trevor Payton
Around nine o’clock in the evening on December 15, 2021, an EF4 tornado with wind speeds up to 190 miles per hour left the western part of the state of Kentucky with the worst storm it has ever possibly seen.[i] Unfortunately, this type of storm in this part of the state has become a trend.[ii] This small portion of the state in far western Kentucky saw “more than a quarter” of the state’s tornados from 2008 to 2018.[iii] The National Weather Service has three field offices in Kentucky.[iv] The Paducah office, being one of those three, that services the western part of the state saw more tornados in a thirteen years than the two other offices combined.[v] With billions of dollars in damages from the December tornado, the storms only seem to be getting worse, and the change in the climate seems to be playing a prominent role.[vi]
Tornados occur when warm, “wet” air meets cold, dry air.[vii] This is typical when the weather changes with the spring season but not typical in December.[viii] What is more startling is that the Great Plains of the United States, known for years as ‘Tornado Alley’, are seeing fewer and fewer tornados each year while the mid-south portion of the country is seeing more and more.[ix] According to a 2018 study, “Tornado Alley” has shifted over the last 40 years significantly south and east, leaving the mid-south, particularly western Kentucky at the heart of the new “Tornado Alley.”[x] A Purdue report found that the Great Plains saw by far the most tornados from 1954-1983, but that the same region saw the largest decrease of tornados anywhere in the country from 1983-2013.[xi] Worse, the southeastern United States saw the most “unexpected” tornados, storms that occurred outside the typical tornado season.[xii] This shift of “Tornado Alley” combined with the increasing risk of out-of-season storms can be credited to numerous factors, but the most likely reason, climate change.[xiii]
The warming of the climate over the years increases the temperatures that the mid-south sees, the moisture in the air, and the risk of potential deadly storms in any season.[xiv] The warm air from the recent December tornado came from the Gulf of Mexico, which is seeing a near-record-high temperature season.[xv] This warming air from climate change has shown its effects in the United States, recording nearly 5,000 record high temperatures in November and December of 2021.[xvi] The warming of the planet, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, not only increases temperatures, but directly links to the increased potential for severe weather events.[xvii] For the new “Tornado Alley,” the number of tornados per year remains nearly the same, but the frequency in which large outbreaks that are more severe have increased over time.[xviii] The state of Kentucky is no stranger to severe weather events caused by climate change and the warming planet, and the effects only seem to be getting worse.[xix]
In recent years, Kentucky’s severe weather events have gone beyond the scope of tornados.[xx] In 2021, parts of eastern Kentucky saw some of their worst floodings.[xxi] For example, in 2020, Kentucky saw not one but two late-season freezes that damaged crop production throughout the state.[xxii] In fact, a study found that Kentucky is the ninth-worst state for climate change impact, with factors such as extreme heat, drought, flooding, and wildfires putting the state in the top ten for highest risk of climate change impact.[xxiii] This means that the extreme weather events such as the large tornado outbreak seen in December 2021 are only more likely to be a regular occurrence thanks to climate change and warming temperatures.[xxiv]
The biggest issue Kentucky faces regarding climate change is its political landscape. Most of Kentucky’s federal congressmen do not even “believe in human-caused climate change.”[xxv] Inside the state’s legislature, the chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee also denies that “human-caused climate change” exists.[xxvi] What this means for action in the Kentucky legislature concerning climate change, is absolutely nothing. Kentucky has not passed a single climate-related piece of legislation in recent memory, and its effort to oppose the Clean Power Plan in 2016 is its only shift from apathy on the issue.[xxvii]
Hope is not lost, despite the lack of climate action in the state. After President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure and Jobs Act into law, Kentucky would receive over $6 billion in federal funding for various infrastructure needs to be allocated explicitly to different sectors.[xxviii] This money can be the spark in Kentucky’s war against climate change. Using these funds to decarbonize the economy and transportation, build better structures and invest in better technology to aid in preparation for severe weather events induced by climate change, and spread wireless internet coverage across the state, which will benefit many aspects of life, but also increase awareness and warning in the event of severe weather.[xxix] The state will also benefit from the federal weatherization program, which will reduce energy costs for businesses and lead to a cleaner energy product.[xxx] The funding for transportation can be used to electrify the state’s public transportation sources, while the bill also allocates for more charging stations across the state in hopes of a more electric future.[xxxi]
The shift of “Tornado Alley” to center around western Kentucky and the culmination of severe weather events that led to the December 2021 tornado outbreak is devastating.[xxxii] But, with climate change, the likely culprit, the state’s fight against it is only beginning. Kentucky must start its uphill climb by using the new federal funding to decarbonize and electrify the state. It could be the spark that transforms the state for years to come.
[i] NWS Classifies Historic Western Kentucky Tornado as EF4, Fox 19 (Dec. 15, 2021, 06:19 PM), https://www.fox19.com/2021/12/15/historic-western-kentucky-tornado-categorized-ef4/ [https://perma.cc/6KDX-VCGT].
[ii] See Jacob Ryan, In Western Kentucky, Tornados are Frequent—and put Billions at Risk, Ky. Ctr. For Investigative Reporting (Dec. 17, 2021), https://kycir.org/2021/12/17/in-western-kentucky-tornadoes-are-frequent-and-put-billions-at-risk/ [https://perma.cc/7778-JQ74].
[iii] Id.
[iv] Id.
[v] Id.
[vi] See Id.
[vii] Elisa Raffa, Tornado Alley is Shifting East, Bringing More Tornado Days to the Carolinas, WBTW News 13 (Mar. 26, 2021, 8:44 PM), https://www.wbtw.com/weather-news/tornado-alley-is-shifting-east-bringing-more-tornado-days-to-the-carolinas/ [https://perma.cc/M6QC-TGMW].
[viii] See Lois Yoksoulian, How Common are December Tornadoes in the US and why are They so Dangerous?, Ill. News Bureau (Dec. 14, 2021, 8:00 AM) https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/103515693 [https://perma.cc/H3VT-84T3].
[ix] Earnest Agee, et al., Center of U.S. Tornado Activity ShiftingEeast and South, Possibly due to Climate Change, Purdue U. (Aug. 16, 2016), https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2016/Q3/center-of-u.s.-tornado-activity-shifting-east-and-south,-possibly-due-to-climate-change.html [https://perma.cc/2TBJ-DDFD].
[x] Ed Oswald, Is Tornado Alley Shifting East? The Data Says yes, The Weather Station Experts (Dec. 12, 2021), https://www.theweatherstationexperts.com/is-tornado-alley-shifting-east/ [https://perma.cc/FH73-QKRT].
[xi] Agee, supra note ix.
[xii] Id.
[xiii] See Ryan Van Velzer, Kentucky Faces Greater Tornado Risks Because of Climate Change, WFPL (Dec. 16, 2021), https://wfpl.org/kentucky-faces-greater-tornado-risks-because-of-climate-change/?_ga=2.48970212.33331594.1642777961-1064427149.1642777960 [https://perma.cc/78GC-PPGF].
[xiv] Id.
[xv] Id.
[xvi] Id.
[xvii] See The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof, The N.Y. Times (Apr. 19, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html [https://perma.cc/XY3R-3JCY].
[xviii] Van Velzer, supra note xiii.
[xix] Id.
[xx] See Sarah Ladd, ‘This is life chaning’: Parts of Eastern Kentucky Reeling After High Water, Courier J. (Mar. 3, 2021, 4:48 PM), https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2021/03/03/homes-damaged-belongings-destroyed-eastern-kentucky-floods/6904171002/ [https://perma.cc/M856-2USU].
[xxi] Id.
[xxii] Andrew McCormick, Kentucky’s Climate is Changing. Will its Politics, Grist (Sep. 25, 2020), https://grist.org/politics/kentuckys-climate-is-changing-will-its-politics/ [https://perma.cc/4CP8-SN5D].
[xxiii] Sarah Ladd, You Won’t Believe Where Kentucky Ranks Among Wors States for Climate Change in This Study, Courier J. (Jan. 13, 2020, 4:34 PM) https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/science/environment/2020/01/13/heres-where-kentucky-ranks-climate-change-risk-factors/4458003002/ [https://perma.cc/2VL8-EE76].
[xxiv] NWS classifies historic western Kentucky tornado as EF4, supra note i.
[xxv] Van Velzer, supra note xiii.
[xxvi] Id.
[xxvii] See Environmental policy in Kentucky, Ballotpedia (last visited Jan. 28, 2022), https://ballotpedia.org/Environmental_policy_in_Kentucky [https://perma.cc/9XX2-H2T5].
[xxviii] Janie Slaven, Federal Infrastructure Bill Bringing Over $6 Billion to Kentucky, Commonwealth J. (Nov. 20, 2021), https://www.somerset-kentucky.com/news/local_news/federal-infrastructure-bill-bringing-over-6-billion-to-kentucky/article_c47ca8a1-38d7-5535-9e23-c3e2a9134f65.html [https://perma.cc/Q7HU-4SHA].
[xxix] Id.
[xxx] Id.
[xxxi] Id.
[xxxii] NWS classifies historic western Kentucky tornado as EF4, supra note i; Agee, supra note ix.