SEVERE WEATHER INSTRUMENTS |
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TOTO....... or Totable Tornado Observatory, was a barrel full of atmospheric sensors. The device was said to weigh about 400 lbs. (recently its weight was estimated by one of its handlers at considerably less, maybe 200 lbs. or so). In the early 1980s, storm chasers raced around with TOTO, trying to plant it right in the path of a tornado. It was a difficult endeavor, like trying to thread the eye of a moving needle. A tornado never struck the device, but it nevertheless won a small measure of fame when a TOTO-like imitation called "Dorothy" appeared in the movie Twister. Credit to the Online Tornado Museum |
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DOW....... The Doppler On Wheels Project has created two mobile Doppler weather radar's mounted on trucks that have explored rare and small scale phenomena, permitting the first ever mappings of tornado winds and resolution of detailed tornado structure and evolution at scales well below 100 m. The upgraded radar's will study tornadoes at even finer scales in dual-Doppler deployments. Studies are planned to observe the fine scale structures in hurricanes, marine and overland boundary layers. |
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Tornado siren..... These sirens are sound to warn the public that a tornado has been sited and that it is time to take shelter. These sirens are meant ONLY to warn the public while they are outside and away from a TV or radio. They are not meant to be heard while inside a home. Please be sure to have a NOAA weather radio on in your home or be tuned to a local radio or TV station for severe weather warnings and keep your eye on the sky. |
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Dillo-cam..... (the name combines "armadillo" with "camera"), was designed to survive the most violent of winds. On May 25, 1997, it made meteorological history. Near dusk, in southeastern Kansas, it became the first observation package ever to be deployed in front of, and then struck by, a tornado. The recovered Dillo-cam tape revealed the image and sounds of the twister approaching and engulfing the device. Storm chaser Charles Edwards of Norman, Okla., created the neon-orange package out of junkyard lead, a secondhand videocamera, and assorted cheap parts. Credit to the Online Tornado Museum |