VORTEX2

Many of you are probably involved directly or indirectly with this but for some it may be interesting:

We had a 30 minute weather special (recap/stories of the year so far and some other stuff) and we went out to Norman to the NWC and talked with Don Burgess about the upcoming VORTEX II project that he is involved in.

Here is that segment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNuN5rJoKdc
 
Brian Emfinger said:
Many of you are probably involved directly or indirectly with this but for some it may be interesting:

We had a 30 minute weather special (recap/stories of the year so far and some other stuff) and we went out to Norman to the NWC and talked with Don Burgess about the upcoming VORTEX II project that he is involved in.

Here is that segment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNuN5rJoKdc
Click to expand...

Thanks Brian, that was good stuff.

Interesting to note they're closing the window of operations from May 10-June 10 instead of the whole Plains season. They mentioned slower moving storms, and one has to suspect this is a move directly related to the cost of fuel. A good move IMO, if saving money is the objection. The best stuff usually falls within that window.
 
The announcer from KHBS/KHOG declares that part of the increased number of weather instruments will be "remote controlled unmanned aircraft that will try to fly under the storm near the tornado".
I thought that portion of the project was cut due to increased costs to satisfy FAA requirements. Anyone heard if this is back in the plans?
 
Shane Adams said:
Interesting to note they're closing the window of operations from May 10-June 10 instead of the whole Plains season. They mentioned slower moving storms, and one has to suspect this is a move directly related to the cost of fuel. A good move IMO, if saving money is the objection. The best stuff usually falls within that window.
Click to expand...
Actually, they budgeted in for $4/gallon fuel. Right now, it looks like they're safe with that figure, but who knows next spring.

The real reason is the fact that the proposal was not fully funded by the National Science Foundation. They were pretty much funded for one year, and they came up with a plan to split it across two years. That plan includes a shorter data collection season, and a removal of the Central-Oklahoma tethered portion which was to be the first half of the season.
 
Verne Carlson said:
The announcer from KHBS/KHOG declares that part of the increased number of weather instruments will be "remote controlled unmanned aircraft that will try to fly under the storm near the tornado".
I thought that portion of the project was cut due to increased costs to satisfy FAA requirements. Anyone heard if this is back in the plans?
Click to expand...
That was my understanding too - no UAVs. Perhaps they recently got permission?
 
I just looked through the Raw Vid and here is what Burgess says about the UAVs:

"Perhaps the other new thing that's very important are the UAV's. Remotely controlled vehicles we hope to fly underneath the cloud base of the storm near the tornado to find out the true distribution of temperature and moisture. That's a hazardous area for a man to fly but these UAV's hopefully can do that job for us so we are very excited about them as well."

"They are about 10-15 ft wingspan and they are somewhat high speed for that small size and hopefully they are going to be able to operate in that pretty hostile environment and get us some data. But they are not tremendously expensive devices so if they lose one (working only in very rural areas), then it wouldn't be a tremendous loss of money. We will put those into the hazardous places. Now we are still working with the FAA on permission to use those. We have pretty strict rules on using UAV's in this day and age because of terrorism threats but we are hopeful that we will be able to use that kind of vehicle not around any cities but out in very rural areas."
 
I understand the VORTEX-2 project will have field research next spring. Does anyone have any insight re: what kinds of hypotheses on tornadogenesis will be tested in this project?

I understand that "data collection" is the core of projects like this, but the advancement of science usually means that specific hypotheses are tested. Would appreciate any direct knowledge or references, especially if any of you have had any direct input into the process. Posters may also want to share any thoughts on hypotheses which should be tested, in your opinion?
 
Scott Weberpal said:
http://www.vortex2.org/
Click to expand...

Thanks. The public information gives a good overview of the equipment, data collection methods, etc...but I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has any ideas of what kinds of hypotheses will the project actually test? I understand these projects 'gather data with the objective of increasing warning lead time, blah, blah', but it seems like the real key is a greater understanding of tornadogenesis. It seems to me that specific hypotheses need to be tested in order to advance this knowledge.
 
rdale said:
Did you read the SPO?
Click to expand...

A belated thank you for the reference, RDale. It seems like an aggressive set of objectives; so let's just hope the weather is there and the project has a chance to be successful. Following up on insights from the original VORTEX project, an emphasis on surface boundaries, effect of the anvil shadow and other storm-scale environmental factors is exciting. I hope there is good participation of the undergrads in the fieldwork.
 
Official VORTEX2 Thread

I know some of you have been involved in these in the past. Where can I find documents/articles outlining the discoveries of these projects? What were some of the things that were discovered that we now use on a regular basis? Also, are there any specific goals of VORTEX 2?

I am just curious/excited about what the new project will bring. Good luck to everyone involved.
 
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