Realtime tools for monitoring tornado infrasound

A 1960's hypothesis that tornados generate infrasound remained largely un-verified (in part due to the challenges of making near-tornado measurements) until my experimental fluids collaborator Brian Elbing made some of the first measurements that corroborated it.  In need of closer-range measurements and a dynamic system identification approach, we partnered to develop mobile sensor packages that were provided to and carried by stormchasers, particularly News9's Val Castor.  This provided tornado-adjacent sensors, provided a live infrasound portal (offline Feb 2025), and allowed us to provide detailed system identification that built support for the infrasound generation mechanisms.

 Brian's team has continued this work through the support of the Moore Foundation

This work was funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under grants NA18OAR4590307 and NA19OAR4590340.