Why are there more tornadoes in the US compared to the rest of the world?

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Why are there more tornadoes in the US compared to the rest of the world?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Tornadoes like to develop when cold air masses and warm air masses collide over flat land. The US just so happens to have the jet stream to the north of it (which being cold air down from Canada and the arctic) and the very warm Gulf of Mexico below an area of very flat topography. Those three things combine to create tornadoes. There’s not really anywhere else in the world where those three criteria come together so perfectly, hence we seem to have a monopoly on tornadoes in the central and southeast US.

Edit to add: flat land doesn’t technically have anything to do with tornadoes forming. However, tornadoes are very finicky and are easily dispersed by sudden changes in elevation. That’s why flat land helps them survive long enough to become significant.

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