8 June 2022

The Targeted Observations by Radars and UAS of Supercells (TORUS) field project is a multi-year, multi-agency, multi-platform effort to study and improve our understanding of supercell thunderstorms. I have now deployed twice (2019 and 2022) with the venerable WP-3D Orion to Kansas to fly multiple missions around the most intense thunderstorms on the planet. The project also involves teams on the ground with additional radars, weather balloons, and UAS vehicles operating in the vicinity of the storms.

It's easily one of the most hazardous environments in which we operate.

As a Flight Director, my role onboard and during the mission is multi-faceted, and we frequently juggle several simultaneous tasks. As the onboard meteorologist, our primary function is interpretation of radar and flight-level data to ensure that the mission progresses safely and efficiently. We also coordinate requests from multiple onboard researchers to the flight crew to collect desired data. We are stewards of the data we're collecting, ensuring a robust QA/QC process is maintained. In the event of an in-flight emergency, we also coordinate the response. It's a very busy, but tremendously rewarding job.