World Today

Looking to the Skies for Tornadoes in the
Midwest and Southeast

Aired April 16, 1998 - 8:45 p.m. ET 

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT
BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. 

JIM MORET, CNN ANCHOR: The weather is looking good
for tomorrow's scheduled launch, but this is the time of year
people in Florida and around the country keep a close eye on
the sky. 

More from CNN's John Zarrella. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT
(voice-over): The twisters that hit Nashville, came as
tornadoes season in the Midwest and Southeast is peaking.
Whether researchers and severe storms forecasters say these
killer storms and those that may lay ahead can no longer be
blamed on El Nino. 

TERRY FABER, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, SEVERE
WEATHER RESEARCHER: Now, as we're getting later on,
El Nino is beginning to fade and these storms are beginning
to occur in the tornado alley region or the Southeast. El
Nino's probably not playing much of a part if any. 

ZARRELLA: El Nino or not, every year the United States is
hit by about 800 tornadoes, more than anywhere else on the
planet. 

BART HAGEMEYER, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FORECASTER: The kind of physical geography and
climatology that the United States has makes it quite unique
in the globe, and by far, the place that receives the most
tornadoes and the most strong tornadoes. 

ZARRELLA: Blame it on those breathtaking Rocky
Mountains, the experts say. Warm, dry air spills over the
Rockies, settling at about 8,000 feet. Moist air out of the
Gulf of Mexico flows in beneath. The dry air from the
Rockies forms a lid or cap, keeping the moist air from
escaping upwards. 

Over time, the sun heats the moist air which then violently
blows its way through the cap. The ingredients are now in
place for the formation of monstrous thunderstorms that
spawn severe weather and tornadoes. 

FABER: This year, yes, we have seen a lot more than normal,
especially in the devastating tornadoes, the violent tornadoes,
the F- 4 and F-5s. We've had over 100 deaths already from
tornadoes, where as in a typical year, you may have maybe
60 or 70. 

ZARRELLA: In all of last year, 69 people were killed by
tornadoes. On average, the U.S. is hit by one devastating F-5
a year, the kind that hit Birmingham, Alabama. Of the 800
tornadoes that form each year, about 200 of them cause
damage. The experts say the problem this year is that the
stronger tornadoes just happen to be hitting populated
areas. 

John Zarrella, CNN, Cocoa Beach, Florida. 

(END VIDEOTAPE)