Editing Tornado (section)

==Ongoing research==
{{main|History of tornado research}}
[[File:Tornado with DOW.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Doppler on Wheels]] unit observing a [[Tornadoes of 2004#May 12|tornado]] near [[Attica, Kansas]]]]
Meteorology is a relatively young science and the study of tornadoes is newer still. Although researched for about 140 years and intensively so for around 60 years, there are still aspects of tornadoes which remain a mystery.<ref name="VORTEX book">{{cite web|url=http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/noaastory/book.html|title=VORTEX: Unraveling the Secrets|access-date=2007-02-28|author=National Severe Storms Laboratory|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=2006-10-30|author-link=National Severe Storms Laboratory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103055533/http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/|archive-date=2012-11-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> Meteorologists have a fairly good understanding of the development of [[thunderstorm]]s and mesocyclones,<ref name="Extreme Weather">{{cite book|title=Extreme Weather|first=Michael H.|last=Mogil|year=2007|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publisher|location=New York|isbn=978-1-57912-743-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/extremeweatherun0000mogi/page/210 210–11]|url=https://archive.org/details/extremeweatherun0000mogi/page/210}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Mesocyclone Climatology Project |publisher=University of Oklahoma |first=Kevin|last=McGrath |date=1998-11-05 |access-date=2009-11-19 |url=http://mesocyclone.ou.edu/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709035137/https://mesocyclone.ou.edu/ |archive-date=2010-07-09 }}</ref> and the meteorological conditions conducive to their formation. However, the step from [[supercell]], or other respective formative processes, to [[tornadogenesis]] and the prediction of tornadic vs. non-tornadic mesocyclones is not yet well known and is the focus of much research.<ref name="LouieLouie"/>

Also under study are the low-level mesocyclone and the [[vortex stretching|stretching]] of low-level [[vorticity]] which tightens into a tornado,<ref name="LouieLouie"/> in particular, what are the processes and what is the relationship of the environment and the convective storm. Intense tornadoes have been observed forming simultaneously with a mesocyclone aloft (rather than succeeding mesocyclogenesis) and some intense tornadoes have occurred without a mid-level mesocyclone.<ref name="Seymour 2001 32">{{Cite book |last = Seymour |first = Simon |title = Tornadoes |publisher = [[HarperCollins]] |year = 2001 |location = New York City |page = [https://archive.org/details/tornadoes00seym/page/32 32] |isbn = 0-06-443791-4 |url = https://archive.org/details/tornadoes00seym/page/32 }}</ref>

In particular, the role of [[downdraft]]s, particularly the [[rear-flank downdraft]], and the role of [[baroclinic]] boundaries, are intense areas of study.<ref>{{harvnb|Grazulis|2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz/page/63 63]–65}}</ref>

Reliably predicting tornado intensity and longevity remains a problem, as do details affecting characteristics of a tornado during its life cycle and tornadolysis. Other rich areas of research are tornadoes associated with [[:wikt:mesovortex|mesovortices]] within linear thunderstorm structures and within tropical cyclones.<ref name="tornado forecasting">{{cite web|last=Rasmussen|first=Erik|author-link=Erik N. Rasmussen|url=http://cimms.ou.edu/~erik/Tornadoes/Forecasting/Detailed/Detailed.htm|title=Severe Storms Research: Tornado Forecasting|access-date=2007-03-27|date=2000-12-31|publisher=Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070407031255/http://cimms.ou.edu/~erik/Tornadoes/Forecasting/Detailed/Detailed.htm |archive-date = April 7, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Meteorologists still do not know the exact mechanisms by which most tornadoes form, and occasional tornadoes still strike without a tornado warning being issued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epa.gov/naturalevents/tornadoes.html|title=Tornadoes|date=2009-09-30|access-date=2009-11-20|author=United States Environmental Protection Agency|archive-date=2012-05-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512005833/http://www.epa.gov/naturalevents/tornadoes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Analysis of observations including both stationary and mobile (surface and aerial) [[in-situ]] and [[remote sensing]] (passive and active) instruments generates new ideas and refines existing notions. [[Mathematical model|Numerical modeling]] also provides new insights as observations and new discoveries are integrated into our physical understanding and then tested in [[computer simulation]]s which validate new notions as well as produce entirely new theoretical findings, many of which are otherwise unattainable. Importantly, development of new observation technologies and installation of finer spatial and temporal resolution observation networks have aided increased understanding and better predictions.<ref>{{harvnb|Grazulis|2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz/page/65 65]–69}}</ref>

Research programs, including field projects such as the [[VORTEX projects]] (Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment), deployment of [[TOtable Tornado Observatory|TOTO]] (the TOtable Tornado Observatory), Doppler on Wheels (DOW), and dozens of other programs, hope to solve many questions that still plague meteorologists.<ref name="field programs history">{{cite journal|first=Howard|last=Bluestein|title=A History of Severe-Storm-Intercept Field Programs|journal=Weather Forecast.|pages=558–77|volume=14|issue=4|doi=10.1175/1520-0434(1999)014<0558:AHOSSI>2.0.CO;2|year=1999|bibcode = 1999WtFor..14..558B |doi-access=free}}</ref> Universities, government agencies such as the [[National Severe Storms Laboratory]], private-sector meteorologists, and the [[National Center for Atmospheric Research]] are some of the organizations very active in research; with various sources of funding, both private and public, a chief entity being the [[National Science Foundation]].<ref name="NSSLsearch"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/research/meteorology/storms/tornadoes.php|title=Tornadoes|author=National Center for Atmospheric Research|year=2008|access-date=2009-11-20|publisher=University Corporation for Atmospheric Research|author-link=National Center for Atmospheric Research|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423151801/http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/research/meteorology/storms/tornadoes.php|archive-date=2010-04-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> The pace of research is partly constrained by the number of observations that can be taken; gaps in information about the wind, pressure, and moisture content throughout the local atmosphere; and the computing power available for simulation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125767948|title=Scientists Chase Tornadoes to Solve Mysteries|newspaper=NPR.org|date=2010-04-09|access-date=2014-04-26|archive-date=2014-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426215245/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125767948|url-status=live}}</ref>

Solar storms similar to tornadoes have been recorded, but it is unknown how closely related they are to their terrestrial counterparts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-03-huge-tornadoes-sun.html |title=Huge tornadoes discovered on the Sun |publisher=Physorg.com |access-date=2012-09-03 |archive-date=2024-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604063415/https://phys.org/news/2012-03-huge-tornadoes-sun.html |url-status=live }}</ref>