One million dollars to answer a major meteorological question: when does a supercell produce a tornado?

A team of scientists in the United States will study how turbulence in the lower layers of the atmosphere influences tornado formation. The aim is to identify which storms have the greatest potential to produce tornadoes and improve warnings.

Anticipating a severe storm is not always enough to predict whether it will go on to produce a tornado. Although meteorologists have increasingly advanced tools at their disposal, determining which of these storms will produce one of nature’s most destructive phenomena remains a challenge.

To make progress in this area, researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States will study how atmospheric turbulence can influence tornado development.

The project has received nearly $1.1 million in funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and will run for three years.

The research aims to improve understanding of the mechanisms that trigger these phenomena and, in the long term, help deliver more accurate and timely warnings, giving people more time to seek shelter.

Turbulence: a key factor in tornado formation

The project is led by Paul Markowski, a distinguished professor and head of the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science …….