3:16 PM Wed, Apr 30, 2008 | Permalink
Kayla Gagnet
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Brad Panovich
Meteorologist |
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Iowa and see first-hand the latest in tornado research. At Iowa State University, I got to see the WiST lab which stands for the Wind Simulator and Testing laboratory.
There, they have the only movable tornado and downburst simulator in the world currently. The research was truly amazing and the experience of being inside a tornado, albeit simulated, was amazing.
I've seen many tornado from afar, chasing them throughout my career, but this truly was a first -- being in an small scale twister. I documented my experiences in a video blog which you can see here. One warning: It is a tad long, but the last 4 minutes is just raw footage of the tornado simulator in action.
Watch the video and enjoy the experience like I did from behind and in front of the camera. Even if you aren't a true weather geek like myself you'll find this amazing to watch and better yet, the research may someday make your home tornado proof.
Watch Brad's vlog
There's been discussion recently about late tornado warnings, and even the complete lack of tornado warnings. The reason for this is most likely related to a topic that was discussed in the months preceding the closing of the National Weather Service facility in Charlotte. Let's take, for example, the warning for Gaston County that was issued about 20 minutes late. GSP is about 60 miles from Gastonia. At that distance NEXRAD radar can only see rotation in the uppermost part of a storm. Rotation near the ground cannot be detected. Tornadoes literally fly under the radar. The solution is simple: Charlotte needs a NOAA NEXRAD radar in the city itself. We cannot depend on GSP to issue our warnings when they can't see rotation near the ground..