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NBC’s Al Roker: Climate change bringing tornadoes to urban areas

Jeff Poor Media Reporter
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As the brutal spring weather continues to wreak havoc on different parts of the country, some are searching for a cause behind it, especially the tornadoes that devastated Joplin, Mo. on Sunday.

On Monday’s “Martin Bashir Show” program on MSNBC, “Today” weatherman Al Roker had a theory on what’s behind the weather. Broadcasting live from the site of St. John’s Hospital in Joplin that took a hard hit from Sunday’s weather, Roker assessed the tornado that hit Joplin to be on the top-end of the Fujita Scale.

“Well you know the National Weather Service is probably on the ground now and they will assess the damage,” Roker said. “Some people are saying an EF3. I would put this probably between an EF4 and EF5, which is the top of the Fujita Scale.”

Roker also offered a theory on why tornadoes are seemingly touching down in more urban areas as of late. His answer: Climate change.

“And you know look – yesterday, or the day before yesterday, we had the tornado in Minneapolis,” Roker said.  “We have had these tornadoes and earlier this week we had a tornado in Philadelphia. And so, you know our weather, or climate change is such now that we are seeing this kind of weather not just in rural parts of our country, but in urban centers as well.”

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