Contact: Dane Konop FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-2483 3/21/95
Government and private-sector scientists, in the largest tornado field experiment ever staged, will intercept tornadoes to obtain information that will improve the forecasting of storms and other severe weather conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced.
The experiment will take place from April 1 to June 15 in the southern and central plains states.
The object is to intercept tornadic thunderstorms with coordinated teams of scientists in specially equipped chase vehicles to study the formation and life cycle of tornadoes. A small armada of 18-20 cars and vans with meteorological instruments and two-way communications will be deployed to intercept and study any tornado outbreaks. A chase may range over hundreds of miles and cover part of a day to several consecutive days on the road.
The Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, or VORTEX for short, is based at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla. VORTEX is jointly sponsored by NOAA and the National Science Foundation.
Approximately 20 scientists and 100 graduate and undergraduate students from NSSL, eight universities, NSF, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Environment Canada will participate.
The area of operations will include Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, and may extend into Colorado.
Throughout the study period, VORTEX leaders will use research aircraft flights, special research instruments, and the entire suite of National Weather Service sensors to monitor weather conditions.
The National Severe Storms Laboratory will host a VORTEX Media Day and Dry Run on March 30. VORTEX leaders and principal investigators will be on hand and accessible for interviews. At this half-day symposium on severe storm research, forecasts and warnings, VORTEX 94 results and VORTEX 95 operations will be followed by a dry run of the VORTEX armada of instrumented chase vehicles.