Scientists hope images from the research drones will improve our understanding of tornadoes and lead to better forecasts.
All tornadoes -- whether large or small -- originate from thunderstorms, but not all thunderstorms are the same. Nighttime twisters, summer tornadoes and smaller events can be tougher to forecast. New research in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society presents a method for rating the skill of tornado warnings based on environmental challenges.
When a tornado threatens a community, NOAA National Weather Service forecasters issue a tornado warning. Local emergency management agencies sound emergency tornado sirens or send out phone alerts. Broadcast meteorologists tell everyone to take shelter. But how does all of this help the public and how does the public respond?
For scientists at NOAA, Earth Day — and every other day of the year — is about getting to the bottom of some of the most pressing questions about the planet we call home: how it works, how it’s changing, and how humans are affecting it.