Although there has been a lot of recent national attention on the increase of wildfires and hurricanes, the threat of tornadoes is also rising as the weather conditions that create them are becoming more frequent and widespread. Diana Olick for CNBC reports tornadoes have taken at least 58 lives across 10 states so far this year, already surpassing the annual average, and much of that is because the season is starting earlier and tornado alley is expanding due to a warmer climate.
When a powerful F-4 tornado plowed through Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in March, residents were largely unprepared. The area had not seen a tornado in over half a century.
“We didn’t have very many tornadoes. The only one that I can remember is 1971, and the tornado bypassed Rolling Fork. It didn’t actually hit,” said Eldridge Walker, the mayor and a native of Rolling Fork, which has a population of just under 1,800 people.
When the March storm hit, the city had only one tornado siren, and some residents said they didn’t hear it. There are now plans to add two more.
“It’s pretty clear that things are happening, which means as a city, as a community, as a homeowner, that folks need to be serious, a little bit more serious-minded about being prepared,” Walker said.
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