Purdue undertakes largest tornado study ever

Terra Daily: Purdue University researchers could improve tornado warnings and unveil trends in their occurrences as part of the largest tornado and storm field study in history.
A project led by Jeff Trapp, an associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, is part of the second Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, or VORTEX 2, field study.

The more than $9 million study, funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, involves scientists from 14 universities and institutions and is sampling supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes that form over the Great Plains of the United States through June 13.

"Through this field study we hope to discover more about what causes a tornado, why one becomes stronger than another and what characteristics of the tornado cause damage," said Trapp, who also was involved in the first VORTEX study in 1994 and 1995.....

The Altus, Oklahoma tornado of May 11, 1982. Photo from NOAA