Analyzing Tornadic Frequency and Regional Climate Change Relationships in Kansas, 1950-2016

Due to climate change, severe thunderstorms with the potential to produce tornados are expected to be less frequent and more intense over the next several decades. The goal of this research is to determine whether regional climate change is occurring and inf luencing the frequency of tornadic activity occurring in Kansas. Using decadal averages of temperature and precipitation along with decadal tornado totals, we conducted multiple regression analyses to determine if there is a relationship between tornados, precipitation, and temperature from CE 1950 to 2016. We found that four out of seven decades were above the 30-year average of 12.1 degrees Celsius, and six out of seven decades of precipitation were above the 30-year average of 68.42 centimeters. After analyzing the data we found that there is no relationship between tornado frequency, temperature, and precipitation. This study does suggest that further analyses should be conducted to look for other potential patterns.