Storm chasers discuss 'most-observed' tornado of all time

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BOULDER - Many viewers of 4 O'clock at 9NEWS might remember the images of a developing tornado on live television about three weeks ago. Now, researchers say it might provide the best analysis of a tornado ever.

It was June 5 in Goshen County, Wyoming, just northeast of Cheyenne. There were no injuries, and no one lost a house, but researchers with a project called Vortex 2 gained a wealth of knowledge and data from the twister which was observed by more scientists than any other tornado.

"It was actually quite exciting," said Karen Kasiba, the surface instruments coordinator with the project.

Vortex 2 is the sequel to a storm-chasing project back in the 1990s. The National Science Foundation spent about $12 million to put 10 mobile radar trucks, 80 weather instruments, and 120 storm-chasers right in the path of an approaching tornado.

"Our goal is to understand more about tornadoes," said Josh Wurman, radar coordinator. "We want to learn how they form, why they form, when they form."

Part of getting that information is to put 12 very heavy pods, equipped with weather instruments, right into the path of a tornado. Kasiba helped set this up within minutes, as 130 mile-an-hour winds were bearing down.

"I'm watching several radar images and watching where the tornados are going," said Kasiba. "I'm looking at road maps and I'm deciding where the tornado's likely to go and are there roads where we can actually put these pods on."

The Vortex 2 team hopes the information from the pods, their instruments, and mobile Doppler radar systems can lead to much more accurate forecasting of tornadoes.

"If we understand tornadoes better, then we can make better predictions, warnings, can have more than 13-minute lead time, warnings can have less than a 70 percent false alarm rate," Wurman said.

The team focused their efforts on southern and central plains states. Roger Wakimoto, one of the principal investigators with the project, says he logged more than ten thousand miles on his rental car looking for tornadoes in the five week period. He's been chasing tornadoes for decades, and he still gets goose bumps.

"The enthusiasm and adrenaline rush is you know you've collected scientific data and that you've hit the home run," Wakimoto said.

The Wyoming tornado was the only one the team got this year, but because of the size and quality of the data they collected from the storm, they say numerous studies will come out of it.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research worked closely with the University of Colorado and a slew of other colleges on this project. Scientists with other organizations also helped out. The Vortex 2 Project will continue next spring.

"The impact of what we're trying to do is immense," Wakimoto said.