Washington (CAR) Analysis | December 15, 2021, by Climate Journalist Noreen Wise; Image Credit: AdobeStock

The unprecedented thunderstorm supercell that struck the US on December 10, 2021, churned a long path of destruction across eight states (Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio), leveling towns, sending debris 30,000 feet in the air and resulting in more than 100 deaths. In an interview with Democracy Now, acclaimed climatologist Michael E. Mann, author of The New Climate War, confirmed that wind speeds in Mayfield, Kentucky reached a catastrophic 300 mph.