Discover - July/August 2011

;C;ENCE DESTINATION

pursuit of rainstorms. As a kid Andy sat glued to the Weather Channel, plotting the progress of hurricanes on graph paper. Now he was living in the Midwest and becoming an experienced chaser himself.

Even for the well prepared, catching a twister is hardly a sure thing: Of the ;; or so days that Andy has spent in the ;eld, just four have yielded tornado sightings. A successful chase relies on a combination of specific atmospheric conditions and careful hunting. Creating a supercell takes moisture, updraft, spin, and then the trigger—a boundary between hot and cold air masses. Even if chasers find powerful storms brewing within driving distance, they still need an accurate forecast of the weather’s progress to reach the action in time. Andy uses his laptop and Weather Central’s software to pinpoint colliding air masses, but travelers without extensive familiar-

CARSTEN PE TER/GE T T Y IMAGES. PREVIOUS PAGES: MIKE THEISS/ULTIMATE CHASE/CORBIS

ity with meteorology can join a tour group. “Storm chasing is like a huge chess game,” Andy says. “Your playing board is the entire Midwest and Plains states. Your opponent is really good and potentially dangerous. It takes a lot of luck and skill to win.” ;;;;;;; ;;;;

Chasers track a giant twister in South Dakota.

INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
VISUALIZATION CHALLENGE
CALL FOR ENTRIES

ENTRY DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

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NEWS of exciting changes to this year’s Challenge, coming soon!

Visualization in all its forms has the power to illuminate and educate. It explains and makes clear all aspects of the world around us. It feeds insight and provokes curiosity.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, invite you to participate in this year’s Challenge. The competition recognizes scientists, engineers, visualization specialists, and artists who produce innovative work in visual communication. Winning entries will be published in Science and Science Online, and will be displayed on the NSF web site.