Want to track a tornado? Researchers developing tool for increased accuracy

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Researchers at the University of Mississippi are using nuclear weapon detectors, originally used by the government, to detect tornadoes with much better accuracy by listening to their sound waves.

Mississippi and Alabama see more tornadoes than almost anywhere in the world, which is why the team led by Roger Waxler chose those locations for the project.

“We focussed in on a couple of storm fronts. One that spawned 8 tornadoes, according to the weather services, and it’s clear we’re getting a signal from the tornadoes,” said Roger Waxler, Research Associate Professor, University of Mississippi.

Tornado warnings right now are often larger than a county, while tornadoes are typically only a few hundred yards wide.

If Waxler’s hypothesis about infrasound is correct, we will be able to see the location of a tornado within 2 football fields. It would be a game-changer for tornadoes, like the one that almost touched down in front of Weather Expert Max Claypool a few Sundays ago.

Waxler envisions having an app that tells you exactly where a tornado is. If it’s coming up your street, you’ll know.

While something like this is still years away, Waxler hopes to have some kind of commercial product in the next 2 years.

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