Targeted Observation by Radars and UAS of Supercells (TORUS)
What is TORUS?
The TORUS project (Targeted Observation by Radars and UAS of Supercells) involved more than 50 scientists and students deploying a broad suite of cutting-edge instrumentation into the US Great Plains. The first field season was conducted in 2019, the second in 2022, and the last, under the moniker TORUS-LItE (Left-Flank Intensive Experiment), was conducted in 2023. Led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, TORUS also involves the University of Colorado Boulder, Texas Tech University, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations. TORUS instrumentation included unoccupied aircraft systems (drones), mobile radars, mobile mesonets (trucks mounted with meteorological instrumentation), a mobile LIDAR (similar to a radar but using an eye-safe laser), mobile sounding systems (balloon-borne sensor packages), and the NOAA P3 manned aircraft.
TORUS aims to use the data collected to improve the conceptual model of supercell thunderstorms (the parent storms of the most destructive tornadoes) by exposing how small-scale structures within these storms might lead to tornado formation. These structures are hypothesized to be nearly invisible to all but the most precise research-grade instruments. But by revealing the hidden composition of severe storms and associating it to known characteristics of the regularly-observed larger scale environment, the TORUS project could improve supercell and tornado forecasts.
Summary of Key TORUS Deployments
Keys for graphical deployment summaries for TORUS-2019, TORUS-2022, and TORUS-LItE
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2019-05-17
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2019-05-20
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2019-05-23
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2019-05-24
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2019-05-26
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2019-05-27
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2019-05-28
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2019-06-02
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2019-06-08
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2019-06-11
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2019-06-13
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2019-06-15
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2022-05-23
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2022-05-24
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2022-05-30
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2022-05-31
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2022-06-06
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2022-06-07
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2022-06-09
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2022-06-11
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2022-06-12
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2023-05-23
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2023-05-24
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2023-05-26
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2023-05-27
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2023-06-01
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2023-06-02
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2023-06-09
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2023-06-11
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2023-06-12
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2023-06-13
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2023-06-15
In the news...
To Probe Tornado Secrets, These Scientists Stalk Supercells
The New York Times (9/8/2022)
Tornado Hunters: The storm-chasing scientists on a mission to solve the sky's greatest mystery
Dateline Australia (6/28/2022)
TORUS covers 9,000 miles across five states to collect storm data
Nebraska Today (8/23/2019)
You might want to take cover if an armada of weird storm-chaser vehicles rolls into town
Omaha World-Herald (5/18/2019)
Flying Drones Into Tornadoes
Weather Geeks (5/15/2019)
How do tornadoes form? This drone-based project seeks to unravel the secrets of spinning storms
The Washington Post (5/14/2019)
Tornado scientists send drone fleet into violent thunderstorms
Nature (5/14/2019)
UN-L set to lead multimillion dollar drone-based tornado research
KETV Omaha (5/1/2019)
Tracking a supercell thunderstorm across the Great Plains
National Science Foundation (4/3/2019)
All news articles about TORUS...