Monitoring infrasound from a Tornado in Oklahoma

Tornado-producing storm systems emit infrasound (sound at frequencies below human hearing) up to 2 hours before tornadogenesis. Weak atmospheric attenuation at these frequencies allows them to be detected hundreds of miles away. Hence, passive infrasonic monitoring may be used for long-range study of tornadogenesis as well as characterization of tornado properties if the infrasound can be correlated with flow-field properties. This requires characterization of infrasound during the life of a tornado as well as other background sources. This is being accomplished as part of the Collaboration Leading Operational UAS Development for Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (CLOUD-MAP) project, a multi-university collaboration focused on the development and implementation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and their integration with sensors for atmospheric measurement. The current work focuses on analysis of a small tornado that occurred on May 11, 2017, about 19 km from an infrasonic monitoring station at Oklahoma State University. Results from this tornado will be reported as well as the available radar data.