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Atmospheric Instrumentation Research
Problem Statement and Objectives
The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration needed to solve the difficult problem of obtaining and measuring pressure signatures from within the cores of tornadoes, information that could provide estimates of wind speeds there. ARA designed an innovative, low-cost pressure probe that provides accurate measurements from within the violent interiors of these storms.
Once deployed in a tornado's path, ARA's Hardened In-situ Tornado Pressure Recorder (HITPR) accurately measures barometric pressure drop, wind speed, wind direction, temperature and relative humidity. A state-of-the-art digital datalogger stores data until the probes are recovered. The HITPR was tested in a wind tunnel at the University of Washington with winds up to 200+ mph.
- State-of-the-art technology
- Tornado-proof design
- Simple, quick deployment
- Highly accurate
ARA also designed a hardened in-situ camera probe that can withstand the brutal forces of the tornado and provide a look inside its core.
Results and Benefits
Data gathered from the HITPR will be used to enhance tornado research, ultimately saving lives through earlier warnings and a better building design for resisting a tornado's winds.
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ARA researcher Tim Samaras, a grantee of the National Geographic Emerging Explorer program deployed the HITPR directly in the path of this tornado in Manchester, SD. The result was a historic first in the amount of information gathered: barometric pressure drop, wind speed, wind direction, temperature and relative humidity of a powerful F-4 (wind speeds of 260 mph) tornado in SD on June 24, 2003
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