Oklahoma State University developing storm drones to monitor tornadoes
Reality catches up with Hollywood sci-fi as researchers design probes to fly into the heart of tornadoes and measure severity of danger
At the time it premiered, the film Twister suggested a fantastical science fiction idea: release probes into a storm to find out which tornadoes could develop into killers.
It's no longer fiction. Oklahoma State University researchers are designing and building sleek, Kevlar-reinforced unmanned aircraft - or drones - to fly directly into the worst storms and send back real-time data to first responders and forecasters.
"We have all the elements in place that make this the right place for this study to occur," said Stephen McKeever, Oklahoma's secretary of science and technology. "We have the world's best natural laboratory."
Oklahoma is the heart of "Tornado Alley", and has emerged battered, yet standing, from seven tornadoes with winds exceeding 320 km/h. The state is tied with Alabama for the most EF5 storms recorded. EF5 is the most powerful storm on the scale measuring tornado strength.
The May 20 tornado in Moore that killed 24 people was one of them. The federal government's National Weather Centre, with its laboratories and the Storm Prediction Centre, are appropriately headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma, but research is carried out statewide on the earth's most powerful storms.
If all goes as planned, Oklahoma State University's research drones will detect the making of a tornado based on the humidity, pressure and temperature data collected while travelling through the guts of a storm. These are critical details that could increase lead time in severe weather forecasts.