ALSO VISIT

Last week and into this weekend, more than 380 tornadoes touched down across 17 states, in one of the worst sustained severe weather events on record, almost double the 1999 record for tornadoes over 10 days. At least 44 people have been killed, with many injured. The supercells that fuel these destructive twisters also dropped immense amounts of rain and caused flooding and water damage in most of the affected areas. Rivers spilled over their banks and hit record heights, causing drownings and property damage.

An unusual weather pattern was to blame: cool northern air hovered low across the plains, while warm wet air, with severe thunderstorms mixed from beneath to create the ideal conditions for a sustained tornado-generating system. Many are asking whether such a phenomenon is purely a fluke, a once-in-a-lifetime event, or whether environmental upheaval and climatic distortion may be partly responsible.