A team of meteorologists including UT’s Kelsey Ellis recently wrapped up the first phase of an unprecedented project to study tornadoes in the South. The project’s results could change what meteorologists thought they knew about severe weather.
WUOT 91.9 FM interviewed Ellis, an assistant professor geography, about the mysteries of southern tornadoes. Ellis is studying the way humans behave when severe weather hits.
“I’m very interested in knowing how people perceive the climatology of tornadoes here,” she said. “We get them at night. We get them during the winter months, which is not what you expect in places like Tornado Alley. And so we’re wondering if issues of people not understanding their climatology may not have them prepared for these events when they happen.” Listen to the story online.