Like big game hunting guides giving tourists a glimpse of African lions, a growing group of commercial storm chasing companies are providing people from all over the world a close look at tornadoes. Gaining in popularity since the movie Twister in 1996, these tours have become a regular part of Tornado Alley, following super cell storms and hoping to see a tornado.
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Chasing Thundersnow
MU researchers release weather balloons during winter storms
Everyone is familiar with storm chasers who follow tornadoes during the summer months. One University of Missouri researcher and a team of students will be doing much the same thing this winter in search of a rare weather phenomenon called thundersnow. The research could make the prediction of such severe snowfall events more accurate.
Multi-Point Storm Chasing
The University of Missouri Storm Chasing Team isn't interested in hurtling toward tornadoes. There's much more interesting data to collect.
University of Missouri Storm Chase Team leader Taylor Trogdon cringes a bit at TV scenes of storm chasers plunging recklessly toward a tornado. While such antics may gather seconds of dramatic video, the action does little to scientifically understand the mysteries of America’s strongest storms.