What Is a Tornado Probe?

Identification

• A tornado probe is any device that weather researchers launch or deposit directly into a tornado in order to study the storm from the inside as it is occurring. Tornado probes may be equipped with various scientific instruments, such as barometers, wind speed devices, radars and thermometers. The devices are designed to withstand the tremendous pressure and winds that the most powerful storms produce.

Deployment

• Because of the dangers tornadoes pose to human life, manned probes are not feasible. Tornado probes are deployed either by being dropped or launched directly into the supercell storm system -- which is a large storm system created when several smaller systems collide -- or by controlling the probe via remote. An airplane will fly over the tornado and drop the probe, which will have a parachute attached, into the tornado's vortex or a reinforced vehicle will approach the tornado, getting as close to it as possible, and will project the probe into the rotation of the storm.

Funding and Management

• Both public and private weather research organizations fund, design and deploy tornado probes. In the United States, the National Severe Storms Laboratory, is the government organization that conducts the most tornado research in the country. The group executed the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment (VORTEX), from 1994 to 2008, and VORTEX 2, from May 10, 2009, until June 13, 2009. This project involved deploying several tornado probes during those years. Storm chasers -- independent scientists who travel to highly active areas to study tornadoes -- will also design and launch their own tornado probes.

Research Goals

• Scientists pursue several goals when launching tornado probes. They aim to understand how tornadoes gain strength and why some tornadoes become incredibly destructive while other gradually lose strength. They also seek to understand why some supercell storms of equal strength produce violent tornadoes while others do not. Additionally, they want to find ways to better predict deadly tornadoes and understand how they travel and cause damage.