VORTEX-SE

The title of this post is not a code word or special password. Rather it is the name of a research project that will be undertaken over the next couple of years across the Southeast US. VORTEX stands for Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment. The SE indicates that the project will be done in the Southeast US. The name VORTEX is not new to most weather enthusiasts as it was the name of two projects, VORTEX-I and VORTEX-II, that took place in the Central and South Plains area several years ago.

This research program will attempt to understand how environmental factors characteristic of the Southeast United States affect the formation, intensity, structure, and path of tornadoes here. VORTEX-SE will also delve into the best methods for communicating forecast uncertainty related to these events to the public and evaluate public response. So VORTEX-SE is unique in that besides the physical science there is also a major social science component to the project.

Rather than try to rehash the information on the project here, I’m going to refer you to a web site where you can get the full lowdown on the project. The web site is https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/vortexse/. The project comes under the auspice of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), so the VORTEX-SE project is found as part of their web site.

-Brian-

Category: Alabama's Weather, Severe Weather