Q. Why does April wield the worst tornados?
By Megan Waitkoff From the April 2008 Issue
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A. With the changing of the seasons, weather patterns overlap and freak systems develop that make Mother Nature bow to the weather gods.
According to Joe Kopecek, meteorologist with WZZM-TV 13 in Grand Rapids, three conditions have to be in place for a tornado to occur: wind shear (a change in the direction of the wind); high humidity; and a cold or warm front that lifts the air to the upper atmosphere.
When a jet stream from the south hits the Midwest, temperatures and humidity start rising. The wind also rises and develops split personalities – at the surface, it might be out of the south, but take a trip 1,000 feet up and it might be out of the west. That instability gives a spin to the atmosphere, and alas – a tornado.
Lake Michigan actually helps squash tornados. In the spring, big storms can move east from Wisconsin with air temperatures of 85 to 90 degrees on land, but as they cross over the lake, the 50-degree water temperature cools the system down and weakens the storms.
The changing of the seasons in April and May often mixes the remnants of the cold with bursts of coming warmth, making these tornado characteristics much more likely. Among the most devastating tornados in LAKE country history:
April 11, 1965: Palm Sunday Outbreak – 47 tornados killed 271 people across six states.
April 3, 1974: Super Outbreak – 148 tornados ripped through Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, causing 330 deaths.
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