Climate change is increasing the threat of destructive winds, according to a 2023 study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Using a combination of meteorological observations, computer modeling and analyses, the study found that the central U.S. saw a five-fold increase in the geographic area affected by damaging straight line winds over the last 40 years.
“Thunderstorms are causing more and more of these extreme wind events,” said NCAR scientist Andreas Prein, the author of the new study, in a statement. “These gusts that suddenly go from no wind at all to gusts of 60 to 80 miles per hour can have very damaging impacts on buildings, power grids and even human safety.”
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