Warm, severe weather strikes the U.S. just before Christmas, El Nino to blame

Unusual weather is expected to continue into spring.

Severe weather struck several states last night spawning tornadoes and killing ten people, including one child. Meanwhile, the east coast is experiencing unusually warm weather, with high temps similar to July seasonal figures.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Unusual, but not unprecedented, freak weather continues to afflict the eastern half of the United States through Christmas. On Wednesday night, severe weather spawned tornadoes across Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

The violent storms killed ten people including a 7-year-old child who died after the car he was riding in was tossed by a twister.

Across the east, particularly in New England, record high temperatures may be set as unusual heat drives the mercury from 15 to 35 degrees above normal. Temperatures will range across the 70s and 80s across most of the region on Christmas Day.

Such weather is unusual, but not unprecedented.

This year, unusual weather has been reported across the United States, owing in large part to a particularly strong El Nino. An El Nino is the warming of the water in the Equatorial Pacific, well above normal temperatures. Such warming changes global weather patterns, and tends to give the American north a warmer winter, and the southern portion of the U.S. a wet winter.

Many scientists think the present El Nino may be intensified by global warming.

El Ninos while the wet weather in the west is appreciated, as well as the gentle spell in the east, El Nino weather patterns are very disruptive and destructive around the world. Droughts are intensified in Australia and India, monsoons are more damaging, floods and famines typically result.

In the United States, extreme weather can cause floods, landslides, and as we saw on Wednesday, devastating storms, out of season.

Of course, the most tragic feature of these deadly storms is their proximity to the Christmas season, when families come together to celebrate.

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