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Article: Chasing twister. (research on tornadoes)
- Article from:
- Science World
- Article date:
- March 23, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Scientists are unraveling the mystery of nature's scariest storm--the tornado--to give you enough time to escape.
Joshua Wurman won't soon forget the first time he chased a twister. In June 1995, he and a team of meteorologists (weather scientists) barreled down Texas roads in a gear-laden truck through blinding rain, savage winds, and hailstorms. They raced to catch up with a tornado about to rip off a stretch of highway asphalt. The twister had already hurled cars, trucks, and a house like a child's toys into the furious sky.
"It was really scary," says Wurman, assistant professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. "We couldn't see the ...