Page 2.....................................................................On the Case
Page 3.....................................................................Timeline of EventsOn the Case
Hosted by the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Center for the Analysis and Prediction of Storms, collaborators from around the United States and Canada were involved in the VORTEX experiment. Dr. Erik Rasmussen acted as project director and field coordinator and Dr. Jerry Straka served as the project assistant director.
VORTEX Interview with Dr. Erik Rasmussen. [Text transcript of interview]
To download RealNetworks' RealPlayer click here.
See Appendix C for a list of VORTEX participants.
If you are able to view the Java applet, click on each location. Project Location
Universities
Government Agencies
Canadian Agency
Data was collected by a team of investigators, operating twelve instrumented vehicles (two responsible for deploying Turtles - portable, low-profile, instrumentation packages designed to withstand tornadic wind speeds), a mobile Doppler radar, mobile rawinsonde laboratories, and two Doppler radar-equipped aircraft. Click on the images below to read more.
The VORTEX Field Experiment was conducted in a very different manner from storm intercept projects of the past. All field resources were focused on only one storm at a time. The goal was to obtain datasets sufficiently comprehensive so that all of the hypotheses could be adequately evaluated.
Every field team conducted very specific scientific data gathering missions.
Various experiments covered:
- drylines, warm fronts, stationary fronts
- intersecting boundaries
- pre-landspout boundaries
- slow-moving, cumulonimbus
- slow-moving, cumulonimbus in landspout situation
- slow-moving, rotating cumulonimbus
- fast-moving, rotating cumulonimbus
- Landspout experiment
- slow-moving tornado
- fast-moving tornado
- slow-moving high-precipitation supercell
- fast-moving high-precipitation supercell
- supercell demise
Operational Preparations
Operational support of activities during the field phase of VORTEX was carried out from the National Severe Storms Laboratory. The Norman Operations Center (NOC) was charged with forecasting, nowcasting, and assisting in the collection of data. During operations, the NOC acted as a "conduit" between the field coordinator (FC) and observations.
Plans for the Norman Operations Center began several months prior to the start of the field experiment. Since real-time operational forecasting was not routinely done at NSSL, plans had to be made to ensure reliable access to data and communications links, availability of various data display systems, and adequate workspace for data analysis and weather discussion between forecasters, the field coordinator, and support scientists. The NOC had three primary functions:
Forecast and nowcast participants included several members from NSSL, the Weather Service Forecast Office (WSFO) Norman, and the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology. Several visiting staff members from National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC), WSFO Fort Worth, WSO Wichita, the WSR-88D Operational Support Facility (OSF), Environmental Research Laboratories (ERL), and the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) also participated.
- During the morning, it served as a forecast center to highlight areas of potential severe convection during the next 12-48 hours.
- During field operations, continuous nowcasting and coordination of mobile ballooning were conducted.
- It supported primary communication between the Field Coordinator and forecasters as well as back-up communications for all field units.
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