Beginning this weekend, over 100 scientists will take part in one of the most ambitious weather research projects to date. The project, called "VORTEX2", aims to increase our understanding of tornadoes by collecting as much data as possible in Tornado Alley over the next several weeks. Over 11 million dollars has been contributed to this study, which will include two phases. The first phase of the study will run from now until June 13th; the second phase will be conducted around the same time (May & June) next year.

VORTEX2 is a follow-up to the first VORTEX study conducted in the 1990s. That study featured 18 vehicles equipped with mobile weather stations, each capable of measuring the small but important atmospheric changes that can precede tornado formation. The second year of the experiment also included the then newly-constructed Doppler on Wheels, which provided researchers with a first-ever, close-in look at the complete life cycle of a tornado. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) has a great website which describes the first VORTEX study.

Although the first VORTEX project went a long way in helping us understand tornadoes, it still left us with many important questions: How and why do tornadoes form? Why do some severe thunderstorms produce tornadoes while others don't? Why are some tornadoes weak while others are strong? VORTEX2 seeks to answer those questions, with the overall goal of increasing the accuracy of tornado forecasts.

VORTEX2 will feature a small army of meteorologists and other researchers who will travel throughout the Plains over the next several weeks, chasing down storms wherever they develop. The survey will feature more than 40 vehicles, including ten mobile weather radars, over a dozen vehicle-mounted weather stations, 38 deployable weather stations, mobile weather balloon launching stations, and an unmanned aircraft (similar to those used by the military). Click here to see pictures of the equipment being used in the study - it's an impressive collection of vehicles!

The VORTEX2 website (www.vortex2.org) will be updated as researchers collect data throughout the Plains over the next several weeks. Hopefully, this study will lead to a better understanding of how tornadoes form so that we can make more accurate forecasts in the future!