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Vortex2 tornado researchers see Wyoming twister close up
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Scientists have completed the first phase of a two-year, $12 million project to study tornadoes in the central United States, encountering only one twister as they stalked storms in a nine-state region with an army of 120 researchers and 50 vehicles.
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Researchers hope to use the program to learn more about how tornadoes form and the damage that they can cause, while improving the lead times on tornado warnings to the public. On Wednesday, they discussed their storm-chasing efforts during the first phase of the project.
In a below-average tornado season, it was nearly a month before scientists finally got a first-hand look at a tornado. One touched down in Wyoming two weeks ago.
The June 5 twister in southeastern Wyoming had nearly ideal conditions for study, said Josh Wurman of the Vortex2 project. The tornado was isolated and moved in a relatively straight line.
"Nature threw us a very slow pitch that day," Wurman said.
Because the researchers had detected tornado conditions, they arrived at the scene 20 minutes before the twister formed, giving them time to gather key information that will help them understand what causes such storms.
"That's the prize that we're after," said David Dowell, a scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
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