SATURDAY: National Geographic Severe-Storms Researcher Gives Free Talk Today at Fifth Third Arena

The University of Cincinnati celebrates five years of STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math and medicine) competition today with the annual Science & Engineering Expo

(SEE). A morning of chemistry demonstrations, hands-on science and movies will be topped off by a keynote presentation from Tim Samaras, National Geographic severe-storms researcher.

As families scramble to avoid deadly tornadoes, Tim Samaras races straight toward them. He careens across the United States’ notorious Tornado Alley on a mission: Predict the exact coordinates of an unborn tornado, arrive before it does, and place a weather-measurement probe directly in the twister’s violent, swirling path.

“Data from the probes help us understand tornado dynamics and how they form. With that piece of the puzzle we can make more precise forecasts and ultimately give people earlier warnings,” Samaras explains. Since current warnings average a slim 13 minutes, every extra second of warning can be a lifesaver for residents facing a twister’s wrath.

“It all started when I was about six years old and saw that fantastic tornado in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Samaras says. About 20 years ago, he began storm chasing. Now he spends every May and June putting 25,000 miles on his vehicle, chasing zigzagging tornadoes across the Plains.

About five years ago, as an engineer, he designed the next generation of probe to measure pressure drops inside tornadoes. A history-making instrument, Samaras’s “turtle” probe has recorded record-breaking drops in pressure—the condition that triggers a tornado’s extreme wind speeds.

“This information is especially crucial,” Samaras says, “because it provides data about the lowest 10 meters [33 feet] of a tornado, where houses, vehicles, and people are.” A 6-inch-high weather station encased in steel, the probe has sensors that measure humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speed, and direction.

His car jammed with GPS gear, radios, scanners, a wireless Internet connection, and satellite tracking devices, Samaras constantly checks the forecast, data, and sky. “I only have one shot at being at the right spot,” he says. “The worst is being five minutes late. One traffic jam or detour and you can miss the whole show. That’s why we try to anticipate the action and arrive while there’s still nothing but blue sky. The storms develop right over our heads, and we follow them as they form.”

Often the fury fizzles. Tornadoes develop from only two out of every ten storms Samaras follows. And deploying a probe is only possible during two out of every ten tornadoes. “The odds are really against us,” he admitted. “Storm chasing is probably the most frustrating thing one can do.”

Students who received a “superior” rating at their schools’ science fairs were eligible to compete at UC’s SEE, which is the Southwest District (District 11) for the Ohio Academy of Science — for the counties of Hamilton, Preble, Warren, Butler and Clermont. Approximately 400 students in grades 7 through 12 will have spent the morning with their projects competing for an all-time high of $73,000 in awards and scholarships.

But first they’ll be thinking about...tornadoes.

Samaras’s presentation is free and open to the public. The keynote will be held on the University of Cincinnati campus at 3 p.m., Saturday, March 14, 2009, in the Fifth Third Arena of the Myrl H. Shoemaker Center.