VORTEX2, or Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment 2, is one of the most ambitious efforts to understand tornadoes. On May 1, 2010, Texas Tech researchers along with more than 100 scientists will hit the road for the nomadic journey to collect vital information that could help better understand tornadoes, predict their occurrence, path and intensity, and improve warning times to ultimately reduce the loss of life.
The project includes multiple partners from various universities and federal laboratories. Texas Tech will contribute two observing platforms to the VORTEX2 field phase. One is the StickNet array that will be deployed in the path of tornado-producing storms to measure atmospheric variables. The other is two TTUKa mobile Doppler radars that will make measurements of the horizontal and vertical structure of tornado cyclones.
Christopher Weiss, assistant professor of atmospheric science at Texas Tech, will lead a team of 20 faculty and students into the field for the project. The assignment will last for two spring seasons. Team members will travel for seven weeks, going wherever the storms take them.
The $10.5 M project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
