Weird But True (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Storm Chasers - full transcript
CHARLIE: Hey guys
Charlie here today we're
hanging out in Colorado
somewhere near Boulder!
And we're here hanging out with
our friends from the Center
for Severe Weather Research.
I think they're
here right now. Oh man.
KIRBY: Come on Charles!
CHARLIE: We gotta go guys!
KIRBY: Hop in!
CHARLIE: Nothing like hanging
out with some storm chasers
to start your day!
KIRBY: We're hoping
for a giant storm!
Let's go chase it down.
CHARLIE: I don't know Kirb,
Moonbows are pretty cool.
KIRBY: Trust me, this
will gonna be bumpin'.
CHARLIE: What's up guys!
KIRBY: Hey!
CHARLIE: I'm Charlie.
KIRBY: I'm Kirby.
CHARLIE: We're so
excited that you're here,
alright, check it out.
The most frustrating
thing just happened.
KIRBY: The worst.
CHARLIE: Just like ten minutes
ago we were outside in front
getting ready to
go to the beach.
We had everything we needed.
We were ready to go.
KIRBY: Umbrella?
CHARLIE: Check. Sunscreen?
KIRBY: Check. Goggles?
CHARLIE: Check!
Ready to roll.
KIRBY: It's raining!
CHARLIE: No!
(sirens)
KIRBY: Is that a
tornado warning?
CHARLIE: No!
KIRBY: We gotta get
inside quick until this
thing passes, come on.
CHARLIE: It's
storming outside!
KIRBY: And nado-ing!
CHARLIE: Tornado sirens!
KIRBY: I just wanna
go to the beach.
CHARLIE: That's
definitely not happening.
KIRBY: I know.
CHARLIE: So, we just got
robbed of a beach day.
And we wanna make sure that,
that never happens again!
KIRBY: Never.
CHARLIE: So today, we're
checking out weather but
not just any weather,
the extreme weather.
KIRBY: The big weather.
CHARLIE: The beach day
breaking, plan canceling,
no outside playing,
big bad, nasty weather!
Today, we're unraveling
the world of...
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and Hurricanes!
CHARLIE: Okay, so for the
past couple minutes Kirby
and I have put some effort
into checking out some
weather stuff.
KIRBY: The neatest
weather stuff.
CHARLIE: And
there's some pretty neat
weather stuff out there.
Like moonbows.
Rainbows that show up at night
when the moon's almost full.
And thundersnow.
That's a blizzard with tons
of thunder and lightning.
There are crazy hail storms,
sand storms,
and mammatus clouds that
look like colorful fluffy
egg cartons in the sky.
But what gets us
really excited...
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and hurricanes.
CHARLIE: Crazy strong storm
events that are basically
the closest thing we have to
mother nature sucker punching
earth right in the jaw.
KIRBY: Hurricanes and
tornadoes are incredibly
powerful storm events.
They're like someone took
a normal storm, cranked
the wind speed up to 11,
and forced the whole
thing into a giant
torpedo of destruction.
But for real, these things are
really nothing to mess around
with because they can
be super dangerous.
So, safety is the number
one thing when you're in an
area that is experiencing
a hurricane or a tornado.
CHARLIE: So, instead
of freaking out about the fact
that there's a tornado warning
going on outside, Kirby
and I decided to cope by
doing what we do best.
KIRBY: A little
research and crafting.
CHARLIE: First up, tornadoes.
Tornadoes don't just
happen during any storm.
They happen during
supercell thunderstorms.
Cool science word, Supercell
Thunderstorms, they're really
intense thunderstorms that
have swirling columns
of air in the middle that
kind of look like this...
That swirling wind area
is called the mesocyclone.
When there's really low air
pressure, the mesocyclone
starts making its way to the
ground, mixing with
cold and hot air.
When the swirling wind
mass touches the ground.
That's when we've got
a tornado on our hands.
KIRBY: And that's also
when we have a tornado
warning on our hands.
CHARLIE: This is how it works.
First there's a siren.
(siren)
Then, on TV something
like this usually shows up.
If there's a tornado watch,
that means the weather people
think there's a chance that
mesocyclone might be
touching down sometime soon.
If there's a tornado
warning, that means the
mesocyclone has touched down,
there's a tornado somewhere
and there could be more.
So, a tornado watch is like
a big maybe, but a tornado
warning is like a heads-up
man, a tornado's been
spotted so get to your
basement and be safe!
Cool cool?
Cool cool.
KIRBY: Guys, guys,
this is great!
But can we please talk about
the fact that there are
a bunch of different
kinds of tornadoes?
So weird!
Check it out!
So first you have
your standard tornado.
Basic shape, swirling wind,
single cone, etcetera.
Then you have your land spout.
Kind of like a junior tornado
that forms from the ground up.
Waterspout tornadoes form
over bodies of water.
Multiple vortex tornadoes have
more than one touchdown point.
And my personal favorite,
a family of tornadoes.
Like a herd of tornadoes
thundering across an area, all
coming from the same cloud.
CHARLIE: So those
are tornadoes.
KIRBY: Tornadoes.
CHARLIE: Tornadoes,
we got 'em down.
Hurricane time?
KIRBY: Hurricane time.
CHARLIE: Let's dive in.
Hurricanes always
start as storms in the
middle of the ocean.
When the temperature gets
warm enough, winds start
pushing the air up and out.
The air keeps rising because
it's so warm and humid,
forming this enormous donut
shaped storm, that slowly
makes its way toward land.
Here's the thing about
hurricanes, they're massively
bigger than tornadoes
like 1,000 times bigger.
One hurricane can cover
the entire east coast for the
United States while tornadoes
usually move through
just one town at a time.
If the wind of one of
these storms reaches
38 miles per hour,
weather people call it
a tropical depression.
If those winds boost up to
39 miles per hour, it's
now a tropical storm and
we give it a name like
Jeremy, or Jillian, or
Julian, or anything else.
Once Julian hits 74 miles
per hour, now he's graduated
to hurricane status.
Congrats Julian.
We're so proud of you.
You big old hurricane.
KIRBY: So, we got
the basics down.
CHARLIE: Yeah, but
we want to know how to
predict these bad boys.
Like we know that tornadoes
come from supercell
thunderstorms and hurricanes
come from warm, humid
air over the ocean.
But that's not really enough.
To really understand these
things, we need to become...
Weather men!
KIRBY: And weather women!
CHARLIE: Weather people!
Stick around for a news
weather update from E.W.N.!
KIRBY: The Extreme
Weather Network.
CHARLIE: 80% chance of
fun weather facts heading
your way so stick around.
KIRBY: That was really bad.
CHARLIE: Not my best line.
KIRBY: Weird but true,
waterspouts can lift sea
creatures out of the water
causing them to rain
down from the sky!
CHARLIE: Today we're
checking out extreme weather.
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and Hurricanes.
CHARLIE: Tornadoes
and hurricanes.
We kind of squared away
what they are, we wanna
learn how to predict them.
We need to become.
KIRBY: Weather people!
CHARLIE: Weather people!
But we found out that
if weather's your thing, there
are a whole bunch of different
jobs you can do to study it.
More than just your television
weatherman slash lady.
Wanna check em out?
KIRBY: I'm game.
CHARLIE: Awesome!
First, we'll start out
with your television
man slash woman.
The people you see on
the TV, on the news, are
usually meteorologists.
They study short term
weather, like day to day
weather that might last
from a few days to a few weeks.
They use complex computer
models to predict patterns,
and give us the weather for
the week or the night.
Usually presenting it in
front of a green screen.
KIRBY: I'm meteorologist
Kirby with the
Extreme Weather Network.
CHARLIE: So that's a
meteorologist, but I know
that being in front of
the camera is not for everyone.
So, for those really smart
science people who get jacked
up about global weather,
maybe climatology
is your thing.
You might wanna
become a climatologist
like Greg over here.
KIRBY: Hey.
CHARLIE: Climatologist
study climate.
And you might be
thinking, weather?
Climate? What's the difference?
Well, climate is basically
just weather averaged over
a long period of time.
While meteorologists
study weather over
a few days or weeks.
Climatologists study
how weather changes
over months, or years,
or millions of years.
They're the ones that track
global weather patterns and
figure out the ways that
humans are affecting
the global climate.
Cool cool, but maybe you're
looking for something
a little bit more extreme.
Meteorologists are
a little passive.
Climatologists are doing
research all the time.
You're looking for an
adrenaline rush, a thrill.
Luckily there's a job
for people like you.
This is Cindy.
KIRBY: Hey.
CHARLIE: She's a
Hurricane Hunter.
That's her
legitimate job title.
KIRBY: That's right.
CHARLIE: As a hurricane hunter,
she flies planes through
actual hurricanes,
carrying radar and computer
equipment, gathering data
to help researchers track
hurricanes and
predict their paths.
But maybe you
don't fly planes.
CHARLIE: Like Bill.
KIRBY: Hello.
CHARLIE: Bill's
a storm chaser.
KIRBY: That's right!
CHARLIE: "Storm Chaser"
is just a title for
anyone who likes
to find, follow or maybe even
photograph extreme weather.
KIRBY: Like me... Bill.
CHARLIE: Like big
thunderstorms, or hurricanes,
or even tornadoes.
Some people do this
because they like taking
pictures of the weather,
or maybe they do their
own research projects,
or maybe they just do it
for the thrill of it.
Oh, what's up Kirb.
Where you been?
KIRBY: Around.
CHARLIE: Cool!
But this still doesn't
answer our question, right?
We know about all the jobs,
but we don't know how to
predict the severe weather.
KIRBY: Like when's the
next tornado gonna hit?
CHARLIE: Or hurricane?
KIRBY: Or the next moonbow?
CHARLIE: Not sure if
they can predict those.
But you guys know what
we're talking, right?
KIRBY: We got to
talk to someone?
CHARLIE: We need some answers.
KIRBY: But no worries.
We know exactly
who to talk to.
Josh and Karen from the Center
for Severe Weather Research.
CHARLIE: So, when we got on
this extreme weather kick, we
decided to give Josh a call.
KIRBY: Hey Josh, it's Kirby!
JOSHUA: Hi Kirb, how
about coming on over?
KIRBY: Perfect! See you in five!
CHARLIE: Boom! That easy.
So, we're off to the Center
for Severe Weather Research to
meet up with Josh and Karen,
you guys wanna come along?
Awesome, we'll
see you in a bit.
KIRBY: See you soon!
Weird but true,
worms rained down on a
schoolyard in Louisiana!
CHARLIE: Hey guys.
You're just in time.
Today Kirby and I are
investigating extreme weather.
Because earlier today,
there was a tornado warning.
KIRBY: But check it
out it kind of looks like
it's clearing up outside.
Perfect. Let's do it!
CHARLIE: Let's roll!
So, we're off to
Boulder Colorado.
Colorado means colored
red in Spanish.
And it's a beautiful
place to check out
wildlife and wild weather.
Boulder is also where you
can find the Center for
Severe Weather Research.
The experts here at the
CSWR study extreme weather
like hurricanes, tornadoes,
and blizzards year-round.
KIRBY: NSF!
-National Science Foundation.
CHARLIE: There ya go...
"Center for Severe
Weather Research", got a
feeling they're in here.
Hello! Hey guys?
Josh? Karen?
Hi, I'm Charlie.
JOSHUA: Hi! Hi!
CHARLIE: Hi Josh.
JOSHUA: Hi.
CHARLIE: Karen.
KAREN: Hi Charlie.
CHARLIE: This is Kirby.
KAREN: Hi nice to meet you.
CHARLIE: Guys Josh and Karen!
Josh and Karen, guys!
Meet Joshua, President
of the CSWR and he's got
three degrees from MIT.
If it's tornado related or
has to do with 100 mile per
hour winds Joshua's your guy.
His favorite weird but
true fact is, that it's nearly
impossible to see a rainbow
in the sky at full noon.
What got you interested
in this stuff?
Why weather?
JOSHUA: Well we're
really interested in
things that aren't known.
So how do tornadoes form?
How do hurricanes
produce severe winds
right at the surface?
There are a lot of
questions about weather
that just aren't known.
CHARLIE: So, have you ever
been inside a tornado before?
KAREN: Inside? A weak tornado.
CHARLIE: Ooh.
JOSHUA: We intercepted
about 200-some
tornadoes with our
program and we've only been hit
maybe two or three times.
CHARLIE: Are you calm?
Are you freakin' out?
Cause I'd be freakin' out.
JOSHUA: Inside a tornado
it's kind of scary.
It's very windy, stuff shaking
around, sometimes things
are hitting rocks or pieces
of buildings, things
like that are hitting.
CHARLIE: Ooh.
JOSHUA: But we've done just
fine, we're reasonably armored
and we stay pretty safe.
CHARLIE: How well can
they predict when a
tornado's gonna hit?
JOSHUA: Some things
we can predict really
well about tornadoes,
but what we don't know
are the precise details.
So, what we're trying to do
with all of our equipment is
understand the differences
between the storms that make
tornadoes and the ones
that don't so we can
forecast them better.
CHARLIE: So, what are
the best conditions
for tornadoes to form?
JOSHUA: So, we need warm
soupy air at the surface.
KIRBY: Yum.
JOSHUA: Soupy,
sweaty, kind of.
KIRBY: Nasty.
JOSHUA: gross day,
you want a gross day,
but that's not enough.
The second conditions is
really important a really
strong jet stream
above that's warm soupy air.
So, you get a thunderstorm
and the jet stream combined
with the winds at the
surface makes that
thunderstorm rotate.
CHARLIE: Hmm.
JOSHUA: and it's a rotating
thunderstorm that's critical,
that's a super cell.
CHARLIE: Soupy air,
jet stream, super
cell, maybe tornado.
KAREN: Steamy weather.
CHARLIE: Steamy weather.
JOSHUA: And then, and then
the mystery ingredient.
CHARLIE: Which is?
JOSHUA: And then tornado.
-Which is what
you're figuring out right?
-Yes, yes.
JOSHUA: That's
right, that's right.
KAREN: Yeah.
JOSHUA: we wanna know
what's the special sauce?
What's the mystery ingredient?
KIRBY: Nice.
JOSHUA: That makes some of
those storms make tornadoes?
We're still looking, we're
still trying to find out.
CHARLIE: Weird but true fact,
the fastest tornado ever
recorded was over
300 miles per hour.
That's faster than
a racecar and Josh was
the one to measure it.
JOSHUA: The average warning
for tornadoes now is about
13 minutes and that's
much better than
it used to be.
What we're working
on is trying to increase the
understanding so that we teach
the people who are making
the future warnings.
CHARLIE: So, when the
tornado warnings happening,
everyone's hunkering down,
you guys are
heading out right?
KAREN: We're hopefully
already out there.
CHARLIE: Oh, you're
hopefully out there.
KAREN: Yeah, we're
already out there.
JOSHUA: If you see us
pull into your driveway
that's a bad sign.
So, we have a whole
bunch of different
kinds of instruments,
which we can show you.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
JOSHUA: That we drop
around the tornadoes.
CHARLIE: Show us the way.
JOSHUA: These are
called tornado pods.
We have about 20
of these and when a
tornado's coming along,
we drive right in
front and we drop them.
Hopefully the tornado
runs them over.
It's pretty stable, the
computer that collects all
the data is inside this box,
which is very tough, and
we measure the wind in the
tornado two different ways.
One just with this
regular blade.
This sonic Anemometer is using
sound waves to measure the
speed of sound in different
directions, kind of like
what a bat puts out.
CHARLIE: Fun science word,
Ami-nometer, which is a.
KIRBY: Nope the Anemometer.
CHARLIE: It's just
a fancy word for a
wind speed measurer.
JOSHUA: And then we have
cameras looking at the debris
flying by in the tornado.
There's the GPS so
we know where it is.
CHARLIE: So how does the
information you gather help
people predict future weather?
JOSHUA: We're trying to
learn more about what's near
the tornadoes and also what's
going on inside
the tornadoes where we
really can't send people.
JOSHUA: So, Karen's
setting up something
that you'll really like.
When we wanna understand
how tornadoes form we need to
know what the temperatures
and humidities are way
above the ground.
So, Karen is beginning to
prepare a weather balloon.
KAREN: Yes hi.
CHARLIE: Karen's a
bonafide expert in all
things wind related.
She's a big fan of chasing
down storms, so if you see
bad weather brewing in Boulder
there's a good chance
Karen's close by.
Karen's favorite weird but
true fact: lightning strikes
men more often than women!
So how high do the
weather balloons go?
KAREN: They go up to
about 60,000 feet.
Telling us what
the temperature's like,
what the winds are like,
and what the moisture is like
through the whole atmosphere.
CHARLIE: So, would they
be able to tell us if a
storm's cooking today?
KAREN: They'll tell us if
it's a good environment
for a storm to form in.
JOSHUA: One really cool
thing about those balloons
is that they go up and up,
the balloon gets
bigger and bigger.
KIRBY: Yeah.
JOSHUA: And bigger and
eventually becomes about
the size of a house
and then it.
KIRBY: Whoa!
CHARLIE: Holy cow.
JOSHUA: Pops!
KAREN: This is you balloon.
CHARLIE: A little dusty.
KIRBY: Oh man.
CHARLIE: Grow. Grow!
JOSHUA: Just keep
a grip on it.
KIRBY: Its filling up with
tons and tons of helium
until it gets massive enough
to fly up into space.
CHARLIE: This thing's
going up 60,000 feet.
We're measuring
temperature, humidity.
KIRBY: Wind speed.
CHARLIE: Wind speed.
Are we doing this? Ready?
KIRBY: Ready.
CHARLIE: Ready?
KIRBY: Let's do it.
CHARLIE: Alright ready go!
KIRBY: Oh man!
CHARLIE: Woo!
KIRBY: That thing is moving.
Weird but true, the largest
known hailstone in the US,
was about the size
of a soccer ball.
CHARLIE: So, what
are we seeing here?
KAREN: We're looking at
the data from the weather
balloon you just launched.
So, this blue line here that's
your temperature profile.
CHARLIE: Mhm.
KAREN: So as your
balloons going up,
you're seeing that the
temperature is
decreasing with height.
And it seems like it hit a
real moist layer there, so
that's probably the cloud.
CHARLIE: How long do you
usually track 'em for?
KAREN: It depends on the
project I can track them
basically until they burst.
CHARLIE: Oh man guys launching
our very own weather balloon.
I think there's no way we're
topping that one today.
KAREN: Oh, we're going to top
that so prepare to be amazed
and come see the
Doppler on wheels.
CHARLIE: Doppler on wheels?
KAREN: Yes.
CHARLIE: Let's check it out.
KAREN: Yeah!
-Whoa!
KIRBY: Let's go.
CHARLIE: Let's go.
KAREN: This is the
Doppler on wheels.
CHARLIE: It's huge!
KAREN: It is huge.
So even though the truck
is really cool, what's really
cool is the radar in the back.
CHARLIE: Yeah?
KAREN: So, we take this up to
severe weather to study
tornadoes and hurricanes
to really study what's
going on inside.
KIRBY: So cool.
CHARLIE: Can we
take it for a spin?
KAREN: We can.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
KAREN: Yeah come on in.
CHARLIE: Right now? Let's go!
Right now, we're in their
mobile research vehicle
to see how they go
chase thunderstorms.
I think we're heading
in the right direction.
Once we know a storm's coming,
we throw down the hydraulics,
we fire up the transmitters.
Start the radar spinning,
raise the mast and we're
ready to get some data.
Alright Josh, looks like
the Doppler on wheels
is ready to go right?
JOSHUA: We're parked on
the top of the hill we have
good visibility all around,
we have the radar on and
scanning and we're watching
to see if new storms
are developing.
CHARLIE: That's a
lot to control, does
it ever go haywire?
JOSHUA: When we're out there
on a very fast paced mission
trying to chase the tornadoes,
we're coordinating what
other teams are doing.
CHARLIE: Dropping pods.
JOSHUA: Sometimes teams are
launching weather balloons,
it's a lot to keep track of.
CHARLIE: Jeez.
JOSHUA: We don't want anybody
hurt so we're trying to keep
people just out of harm's way
and that's what we
stay focused on in this
mission control truck.
CHARLIE: You're getting
as much data as possible,
but everyone's good to go.
JOSHUA: Yes.
CHARLIE: So, we're back
in the Doppler on wheels
and this is the weather.
That's happening outside
right, now right?
JOSHUA: We're watching
some rain showers that
are over the mountains,
so we can track them here.
The green and bluer areas are
areas where it's raining,
when it gets to be yellow
and pink again, that's when
it's really hard or hail.
CHARLIE: Where...
KIRBY: How far away
can this thing reach?
JOSHUA: Sometimes we can
see 100 miles away,
right now we are
looking about 40 miles.
Some of these cells are
maybe about 20,
25 miles away and they're kind
of moving in our direction.
So right now, we're in
the storm waiting mode,
getting ready to go into that
storm chasing mode.
CHARLIE: So hopefully it
starts heading towards
us fingers crossed.
Alright so I'm sure most of
you think that storm chasing
is really high intensity stuff.
You're being thrashed around
by tornadoes all over the
place and that's what it is
like sometimes, but
most of the time,
storm chasing is kind of
more like storm waiting.
Yo you think we should
check the radar?
KIRBY: Yeah probably.
I'll go do it.
CHARLIE: Alright.
KIRBY: We got a uh storm
coming hot over to the west.
JOSHUA: It's a little
cool outside, the sun's
starting to go down.
Today is probably not a
great day for severe weather.
CHARLIE: Alright guys so
unfortunately, we didn't
see any storms today,
but that's alright cause
we figured out how the
actual scientists
do their storm chasing.
We gotta kick it back to
HQ super quickly because we're
almost running out of time
and I'm sure Josh and
Karen have a lot of super
important research to do.
Hold tight we'll
see you real soon.
KIRBY: Weird but true,
bolts of lightning can shoot
out of an erupting volcano!
Definitely cooler
than a moonbow.
CHARLIE: I don't know man.
KIRBY: Oh, hey guys.
CHARLIE: Hey what's up?
We just got back
from the CSWR.
KIRBY: The Center for
Severe Weather Research.
CHARLIE: Ready. Go!
KIRBY: Oh man!
CHARLIE: Woo!
We saw all of Josh and
Karen's storm weather
chasing equipment.
KIRBY: It was crazy cool!
CHARLIE: So, we pretty much
have it figured out right?
How to predict
these tornadoes.
What else did we learn today?
There were so many
weird but true things.
A tropical storm becomes a
hurricane when wind speeds
hit 74 miles per hour.
An anemometer is a
tool that can measure the
wind speeds of a tornado.
Hurricane hunters
fly planes through
hurricanes to study them.
Hey guys it looks
pretty clear outside.
Maybe we can go to the beach!
KIRBY: Perfect!
You go grab the beach stuff,
I'll double check the weather.
CHARLIE: Cool, cool.
KIRBY: No storms,
we're looking good.
CHARLIE: Alright, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, you see that
storm system over Moline?
Forget the beach stuff we
gotta go chase this storm.
KIRBY: Let's do it.
CHARLIE: Alright guys
we gotta go, but stop
by again when we
discover more things
that are weird but true.
KIRBY: Alright check it out.
CHARLIE: We gotta go this way.
Captioned by
Cotter Captioning Services.
Charlie here today we're
hanging out in Colorado
somewhere near Boulder!
And we're here hanging out with
our friends from the Center
for Severe Weather Research.
I think they're
here right now. Oh man.
KIRBY: Come on Charles!
CHARLIE: We gotta go guys!
KIRBY: Hop in!
CHARLIE: Nothing like hanging
out with some storm chasers
to start your day!
KIRBY: We're hoping
for a giant storm!
Let's go chase it down.
CHARLIE: I don't know Kirb,
Moonbows are pretty cool.
KIRBY: Trust me, this
will gonna be bumpin'.
CHARLIE: What's up guys!
KIRBY: Hey!
CHARLIE: I'm Charlie.
KIRBY: I'm Kirby.
CHARLIE: We're so
excited that you're here,
alright, check it out.
The most frustrating
thing just happened.
KIRBY: The worst.
CHARLIE: Just like ten minutes
ago we were outside in front
getting ready to
go to the beach.
We had everything we needed.
We were ready to go.
KIRBY: Umbrella?
CHARLIE: Check. Sunscreen?
KIRBY: Check. Goggles?
CHARLIE: Check!
Ready to roll.
KIRBY: It's raining!
CHARLIE: No!
(sirens)
KIRBY: Is that a
tornado warning?
CHARLIE: No!
KIRBY: We gotta get
inside quick until this
thing passes, come on.
CHARLIE: It's
storming outside!
KIRBY: And nado-ing!
CHARLIE: Tornado sirens!
KIRBY: I just wanna
go to the beach.
CHARLIE: That's
definitely not happening.
KIRBY: I know.
CHARLIE: So, we just got
robbed of a beach day.
And we wanna make sure that,
that never happens again!
KIRBY: Never.
CHARLIE: So today, we're
checking out weather but
not just any weather,
the extreme weather.
KIRBY: The big weather.
CHARLIE: The beach day
breaking, plan canceling,
no outside playing,
big bad, nasty weather!
Today, we're unraveling
the world of...
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and Hurricanes!
CHARLIE: Okay, so for the
past couple minutes Kirby
and I have put some effort
into checking out some
weather stuff.
KIRBY: The neatest
weather stuff.
CHARLIE: And
there's some pretty neat
weather stuff out there.
Like moonbows.
Rainbows that show up at night
when the moon's almost full.
And thundersnow.
That's a blizzard with tons
of thunder and lightning.
There are crazy hail storms,
sand storms,
and mammatus clouds that
look like colorful fluffy
egg cartons in the sky.
But what gets us
really excited...
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and hurricanes.
CHARLIE: Crazy strong storm
events that are basically
the closest thing we have to
mother nature sucker punching
earth right in the jaw.
KIRBY: Hurricanes and
tornadoes are incredibly
powerful storm events.
They're like someone took
a normal storm, cranked
the wind speed up to 11,
and forced the whole
thing into a giant
torpedo of destruction.
But for real, these things are
really nothing to mess around
with because they can
be super dangerous.
So, safety is the number
one thing when you're in an
area that is experiencing
a hurricane or a tornado.
CHARLIE: So, instead
of freaking out about the fact
that there's a tornado warning
going on outside, Kirby
and I decided to cope by
doing what we do best.
KIRBY: A little
research and crafting.
CHARLIE: First up, tornadoes.
Tornadoes don't just
happen during any storm.
They happen during
supercell thunderstorms.
Cool science word, Supercell
Thunderstorms, they're really
intense thunderstorms that
have swirling columns
of air in the middle that
kind of look like this...
That swirling wind area
is called the mesocyclone.
When there's really low air
pressure, the mesocyclone
starts making its way to the
ground, mixing with
cold and hot air.
When the swirling wind
mass touches the ground.
That's when we've got
a tornado on our hands.
KIRBY: And that's also
when we have a tornado
warning on our hands.
CHARLIE: This is how it works.
First there's a siren.
(siren)
Then, on TV something
like this usually shows up.
If there's a tornado watch,
that means the weather people
think there's a chance that
mesocyclone might be
touching down sometime soon.
If there's a tornado
warning, that means the
mesocyclone has touched down,
there's a tornado somewhere
and there could be more.
So, a tornado watch is like
a big maybe, but a tornado
warning is like a heads-up
man, a tornado's been
spotted so get to your
basement and be safe!
Cool cool?
Cool cool.
KIRBY: Guys, guys,
this is great!
But can we please talk about
the fact that there are
a bunch of different
kinds of tornadoes?
So weird!
Check it out!
So first you have
your standard tornado.
Basic shape, swirling wind,
single cone, etcetera.
Then you have your land spout.
Kind of like a junior tornado
that forms from the ground up.
Waterspout tornadoes form
over bodies of water.
Multiple vortex tornadoes have
more than one touchdown point.
And my personal favorite,
a family of tornadoes.
Like a herd of tornadoes
thundering across an area, all
coming from the same cloud.
CHARLIE: So those
are tornadoes.
KIRBY: Tornadoes.
CHARLIE: Tornadoes,
we got 'em down.
Hurricane time?
KIRBY: Hurricane time.
CHARLIE: Let's dive in.
Hurricanes always
start as storms in the
middle of the ocean.
When the temperature gets
warm enough, winds start
pushing the air up and out.
The air keeps rising because
it's so warm and humid,
forming this enormous donut
shaped storm, that slowly
makes its way toward land.
Here's the thing about
hurricanes, they're massively
bigger than tornadoes
like 1,000 times bigger.
One hurricane can cover
the entire east coast for the
United States while tornadoes
usually move through
just one town at a time.
If the wind of one of
these storms reaches
38 miles per hour,
weather people call it
a tropical depression.
If those winds boost up to
39 miles per hour, it's
now a tropical storm and
we give it a name like
Jeremy, or Jillian, or
Julian, or anything else.
Once Julian hits 74 miles
per hour, now he's graduated
to hurricane status.
Congrats Julian.
We're so proud of you.
You big old hurricane.
KIRBY: So, we got
the basics down.
CHARLIE: Yeah, but
we want to know how to
predict these bad boys.
Like we know that tornadoes
come from supercell
thunderstorms and hurricanes
come from warm, humid
air over the ocean.
But that's not really enough.
To really understand these
things, we need to become...
Weather men!
KIRBY: And weather women!
CHARLIE: Weather people!
Stick around for a news
weather update from E.W.N.!
KIRBY: The Extreme
Weather Network.
CHARLIE: 80% chance of
fun weather facts heading
your way so stick around.
KIRBY: That was really bad.
CHARLIE: Not my best line.
KIRBY: Weird but true,
waterspouts can lift sea
creatures out of the water
causing them to rain
down from the sky!
CHARLIE: Today we're
checking out extreme weather.
KIRBY: Tornadoes
and Hurricanes.
CHARLIE: Tornadoes
and hurricanes.
We kind of squared away
what they are, we wanna
learn how to predict them.
We need to become.
KIRBY: Weather people!
CHARLIE: Weather people!
But we found out that
if weather's your thing, there
are a whole bunch of different
jobs you can do to study it.
More than just your television
weatherman slash lady.
Wanna check em out?
KIRBY: I'm game.
CHARLIE: Awesome!
First, we'll start out
with your television
man slash woman.
The people you see on
the TV, on the news, are
usually meteorologists.
They study short term
weather, like day to day
weather that might last
from a few days to a few weeks.
They use complex computer
models to predict patterns,
and give us the weather for
the week or the night.
Usually presenting it in
front of a green screen.
KIRBY: I'm meteorologist
Kirby with the
Extreme Weather Network.
CHARLIE: So that's a
meteorologist, but I know
that being in front of
the camera is not for everyone.
So, for those really smart
science people who get jacked
up about global weather,
maybe climatology
is your thing.
You might wanna
become a climatologist
like Greg over here.
KIRBY: Hey.
CHARLIE: Climatologist
study climate.
And you might be
thinking, weather?
Climate? What's the difference?
Well, climate is basically
just weather averaged over
a long period of time.
While meteorologists
study weather over
a few days or weeks.
Climatologists study
how weather changes
over months, or years,
or millions of years.
They're the ones that track
global weather patterns and
figure out the ways that
humans are affecting
the global climate.
Cool cool, but maybe you're
looking for something
a little bit more extreme.
Meteorologists are
a little passive.
Climatologists are doing
research all the time.
You're looking for an
adrenaline rush, a thrill.
Luckily there's a job
for people like you.
This is Cindy.
KIRBY: Hey.
CHARLIE: She's a
Hurricane Hunter.
That's her
legitimate job title.
KIRBY: That's right.
CHARLIE: As a hurricane hunter,
she flies planes through
actual hurricanes,
carrying radar and computer
equipment, gathering data
to help researchers track
hurricanes and
predict their paths.
But maybe you
don't fly planes.
CHARLIE: Like Bill.
KIRBY: Hello.
CHARLIE: Bill's
a storm chaser.
KIRBY: That's right!
CHARLIE: "Storm Chaser"
is just a title for
anyone who likes
to find, follow or maybe even
photograph extreme weather.
KIRBY: Like me... Bill.
CHARLIE: Like big
thunderstorms, or hurricanes,
or even tornadoes.
Some people do this
because they like taking
pictures of the weather,
or maybe they do their
own research projects,
or maybe they just do it
for the thrill of it.
Oh, what's up Kirb.
Where you been?
KIRBY: Around.
CHARLIE: Cool!
But this still doesn't
answer our question, right?
We know about all the jobs,
but we don't know how to
predict the severe weather.
KIRBY: Like when's the
next tornado gonna hit?
CHARLIE: Or hurricane?
KIRBY: Or the next moonbow?
CHARLIE: Not sure if
they can predict those.
But you guys know what
we're talking, right?
KIRBY: We got to
talk to someone?
CHARLIE: We need some answers.
KIRBY: But no worries.
We know exactly
who to talk to.
Josh and Karen from the Center
for Severe Weather Research.
CHARLIE: So, when we got on
this extreme weather kick, we
decided to give Josh a call.
KIRBY: Hey Josh, it's Kirby!
JOSHUA: Hi Kirb, how
about coming on over?
KIRBY: Perfect! See you in five!
CHARLIE: Boom! That easy.
So, we're off to the Center
for Severe Weather Research to
meet up with Josh and Karen,
you guys wanna come along?
Awesome, we'll
see you in a bit.
KIRBY: See you soon!
Weird but true,
worms rained down on a
schoolyard in Louisiana!
CHARLIE: Hey guys.
You're just in time.
Today Kirby and I are
investigating extreme weather.
Because earlier today,
there was a tornado warning.
KIRBY: But check it
out it kind of looks like
it's clearing up outside.
Perfect. Let's do it!
CHARLIE: Let's roll!
So, we're off to
Boulder Colorado.
Colorado means colored
red in Spanish.
And it's a beautiful
place to check out
wildlife and wild weather.
Boulder is also where you
can find the Center for
Severe Weather Research.
The experts here at the
CSWR study extreme weather
like hurricanes, tornadoes,
and blizzards year-round.
KIRBY: NSF!
-National Science Foundation.
CHARLIE: There ya go...
"Center for Severe
Weather Research", got a
feeling they're in here.
Hello! Hey guys?
Josh? Karen?
Hi, I'm Charlie.
JOSHUA: Hi! Hi!
CHARLIE: Hi Josh.
JOSHUA: Hi.
CHARLIE: Karen.
KAREN: Hi Charlie.
CHARLIE: This is Kirby.
KAREN: Hi nice to meet you.
CHARLIE: Guys Josh and Karen!
Josh and Karen, guys!
Meet Joshua, President
of the CSWR and he's got
three degrees from MIT.
If it's tornado related or
has to do with 100 mile per
hour winds Joshua's your guy.
His favorite weird but
true fact is, that it's nearly
impossible to see a rainbow
in the sky at full noon.
What got you interested
in this stuff?
Why weather?
JOSHUA: Well we're
really interested in
things that aren't known.
So how do tornadoes form?
How do hurricanes
produce severe winds
right at the surface?
There are a lot of
questions about weather
that just aren't known.
CHARLIE: So, have you ever
been inside a tornado before?
KAREN: Inside? A weak tornado.
CHARLIE: Ooh.
JOSHUA: We intercepted
about 200-some
tornadoes with our
program and we've only been hit
maybe two or three times.
CHARLIE: Are you calm?
Are you freakin' out?
Cause I'd be freakin' out.
JOSHUA: Inside a tornado
it's kind of scary.
It's very windy, stuff shaking
around, sometimes things
are hitting rocks or pieces
of buildings, things
like that are hitting.
CHARLIE: Ooh.
JOSHUA: But we've done just
fine, we're reasonably armored
and we stay pretty safe.
CHARLIE: How well can
they predict when a
tornado's gonna hit?
JOSHUA: Some things
we can predict really
well about tornadoes,
but what we don't know
are the precise details.
So, what we're trying to do
with all of our equipment is
understand the differences
between the storms that make
tornadoes and the ones
that don't so we can
forecast them better.
CHARLIE: So, what are
the best conditions
for tornadoes to form?
JOSHUA: So, we need warm
soupy air at the surface.
KIRBY: Yum.
JOSHUA: Soupy,
sweaty, kind of.
KIRBY: Nasty.
JOSHUA: gross day,
you want a gross day,
but that's not enough.
The second conditions is
really important a really
strong jet stream
above that's warm soupy air.
So, you get a thunderstorm
and the jet stream combined
with the winds at the
surface makes that
thunderstorm rotate.
CHARLIE: Hmm.
JOSHUA: and it's a rotating
thunderstorm that's critical,
that's a super cell.
CHARLIE: Soupy air,
jet stream, super
cell, maybe tornado.
KAREN: Steamy weather.
CHARLIE: Steamy weather.
JOSHUA: And then, and then
the mystery ingredient.
CHARLIE: Which is?
JOSHUA: And then tornado.
-Which is what
you're figuring out right?
-Yes, yes.
JOSHUA: That's
right, that's right.
KAREN: Yeah.
JOSHUA: we wanna know
what's the special sauce?
What's the mystery ingredient?
KIRBY: Nice.
JOSHUA: That makes some of
those storms make tornadoes?
We're still looking, we're
still trying to find out.
CHARLIE: Weird but true fact,
the fastest tornado ever
recorded was over
300 miles per hour.
That's faster than
a racecar and Josh was
the one to measure it.
JOSHUA: The average warning
for tornadoes now is about
13 minutes and that's
much better than
it used to be.
What we're working
on is trying to increase the
understanding so that we teach
the people who are making
the future warnings.
CHARLIE: So, when the
tornado warnings happening,
everyone's hunkering down,
you guys are
heading out right?
KAREN: We're hopefully
already out there.
CHARLIE: Oh, you're
hopefully out there.
KAREN: Yeah, we're
already out there.
JOSHUA: If you see us
pull into your driveway
that's a bad sign.
So, we have a whole
bunch of different
kinds of instruments,
which we can show you.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
JOSHUA: That we drop
around the tornadoes.
CHARLIE: Show us the way.
JOSHUA: These are
called tornado pods.
We have about 20
of these and when a
tornado's coming along,
we drive right in
front and we drop them.
Hopefully the tornado
runs them over.
It's pretty stable, the
computer that collects all
the data is inside this box,
which is very tough, and
we measure the wind in the
tornado two different ways.
One just with this
regular blade.
This sonic Anemometer is using
sound waves to measure the
speed of sound in different
directions, kind of like
what a bat puts out.
CHARLIE: Fun science word,
Ami-nometer, which is a.
KIRBY: Nope the Anemometer.
CHARLIE: It's just
a fancy word for a
wind speed measurer.
JOSHUA: And then we have
cameras looking at the debris
flying by in the tornado.
There's the GPS so
we know where it is.
CHARLIE: So how does the
information you gather help
people predict future weather?
JOSHUA: We're trying to
learn more about what's near
the tornadoes and also what's
going on inside
the tornadoes where we
really can't send people.
JOSHUA: So, Karen's
setting up something
that you'll really like.
When we wanna understand
how tornadoes form we need to
know what the temperatures
and humidities are way
above the ground.
So, Karen is beginning to
prepare a weather balloon.
KAREN: Yes hi.
CHARLIE: Karen's a
bonafide expert in all
things wind related.
She's a big fan of chasing
down storms, so if you see
bad weather brewing in Boulder
there's a good chance
Karen's close by.
Karen's favorite weird but
true fact: lightning strikes
men more often than women!
So how high do the
weather balloons go?
KAREN: They go up to
about 60,000 feet.
Telling us what
the temperature's like,
what the winds are like,
and what the moisture is like
through the whole atmosphere.
CHARLIE: So, would they
be able to tell us if a
storm's cooking today?
KAREN: They'll tell us if
it's a good environment
for a storm to form in.
JOSHUA: One really cool
thing about those balloons
is that they go up and up,
the balloon gets
bigger and bigger.
KIRBY: Yeah.
JOSHUA: And bigger and
eventually becomes about
the size of a house
and then it.
KIRBY: Whoa!
CHARLIE: Holy cow.
JOSHUA: Pops!
KAREN: This is you balloon.
CHARLIE: A little dusty.
KIRBY: Oh man.
CHARLIE: Grow. Grow!
JOSHUA: Just keep
a grip on it.
KIRBY: Its filling up with
tons and tons of helium
until it gets massive enough
to fly up into space.
CHARLIE: This thing's
going up 60,000 feet.
We're measuring
temperature, humidity.
KIRBY: Wind speed.
CHARLIE: Wind speed.
Are we doing this? Ready?
KIRBY: Ready.
CHARLIE: Ready?
KIRBY: Let's do it.
CHARLIE: Alright ready go!
KIRBY: Oh man!
CHARLIE: Woo!
KIRBY: That thing is moving.
Weird but true, the largest
known hailstone in the US,
was about the size
of a soccer ball.
CHARLIE: So, what
are we seeing here?
KAREN: We're looking at
the data from the weather
balloon you just launched.
So, this blue line here that's
your temperature profile.
CHARLIE: Mhm.
KAREN: So as your
balloons going up,
you're seeing that the
temperature is
decreasing with height.
And it seems like it hit a
real moist layer there, so
that's probably the cloud.
CHARLIE: How long do you
usually track 'em for?
KAREN: It depends on the
project I can track them
basically until they burst.
CHARLIE: Oh man guys launching
our very own weather balloon.
I think there's no way we're
topping that one today.
KAREN: Oh, we're going to top
that so prepare to be amazed
and come see the
Doppler on wheels.
CHARLIE: Doppler on wheels?
KAREN: Yes.
CHARLIE: Let's check it out.
KAREN: Yeah!
-Whoa!
KIRBY: Let's go.
CHARLIE: Let's go.
KAREN: This is the
Doppler on wheels.
CHARLIE: It's huge!
KAREN: It is huge.
So even though the truck
is really cool, what's really
cool is the radar in the back.
CHARLIE: Yeah?
KAREN: So, we take this up to
severe weather to study
tornadoes and hurricanes
to really study what's
going on inside.
KIRBY: So cool.
CHARLIE: Can we
take it for a spin?
KAREN: We can.
CHARLIE: Yeah.
KAREN: Yeah come on in.
CHARLIE: Right now? Let's go!
Right now, we're in their
mobile research vehicle
to see how they go
chase thunderstorms.
I think we're heading
in the right direction.
Once we know a storm's coming,
we throw down the hydraulics,
we fire up the transmitters.
Start the radar spinning,
raise the mast and we're
ready to get some data.
Alright Josh, looks like
the Doppler on wheels
is ready to go right?
JOSHUA: We're parked on
the top of the hill we have
good visibility all around,
we have the radar on and
scanning and we're watching
to see if new storms
are developing.
CHARLIE: That's a
lot to control, does
it ever go haywire?
JOSHUA: When we're out there
on a very fast paced mission
trying to chase the tornadoes,
we're coordinating what
other teams are doing.
CHARLIE: Dropping pods.
JOSHUA: Sometimes teams are
launching weather balloons,
it's a lot to keep track of.
CHARLIE: Jeez.
JOSHUA: We don't want anybody
hurt so we're trying to keep
people just out of harm's way
and that's what we
stay focused on in this
mission control truck.
CHARLIE: You're getting
as much data as possible,
but everyone's good to go.
JOSHUA: Yes.
CHARLIE: So, we're back
in the Doppler on wheels
and this is the weather.
That's happening outside
right, now right?
JOSHUA: We're watching
some rain showers that
are over the mountains,
so we can track them here.
The green and bluer areas are
areas where it's raining,
when it gets to be yellow
and pink again, that's when
it's really hard or hail.
CHARLIE: Where...
KIRBY: How far away
can this thing reach?
JOSHUA: Sometimes we can
see 100 miles away,
right now we are
looking about 40 miles.
Some of these cells are
maybe about 20,
25 miles away and they're kind
of moving in our direction.
So right now, we're in
the storm waiting mode,
getting ready to go into that
storm chasing mode.
CHARLIE: So hopefully it
starts heading towards
us fingers crossed.
Alright so I'm sure most of
you think that storm chasing
is really high intensity stuff.
You're being thrashed around
by tornadoes all over the
place and that's what it is
like sometimes, but
most of the time,
storm chasing is kind of
more like storm waiting.
Yo you think we should
check the radar?
KIRBY: Yeah probably.
I'll go do it.
CHARLIE: Alright.
KIRBY: We got a uh storm
coming hot over to the west.
JOSHUA: It's a little
cool outside, the sun's
starting to go down.
Today is probably not a
great day for severe weather.
CHARLIE: Alright guys so
unfortunately, we didn't
see any storms today,
but that's alright cause
we figured out how the
actual scientists
do their storm chasing.
We gotta kick it back to
HQ super quickly because we're
almost running out of time
and I'm sure Josh and
Karen have a lot of super
important research to do.
Hold tight we'll
see you real soon.
KIRBY: Weird but true,
bolts of lightning can shoot
out of an erupting volcano!
Definitely cooler
than a moonbow.
CHARLIE: I don't know man.
KIRBY: Oh, hey guys.
CHARLIE: Hey what's up?
We just got back
from the CSWR.
KIRBY: The Center for
Severe Weather Research.
CHARLIE: Ready. Go!
KIRBY: Oh man!
CHARLIE: Woo!
We saw all of Josh and
Karen's storm weather
chasing equipment.
KIRBY: It was crazy cool!
CHARLIE: So, we pretty much
have it figured out right?
How to predict
these tornadoes.
What else did we learn today?
There were so many
weird but true things.
A tropical storm becomes a
hurricane when wind speeds
hit 74 miles per hour.
An anemometer is a
tool that can measure the
wind speeds of a tornado.
Hurricane hunters
fly planes through
hurricanes to study them.
Hey guys it looks
pretty clear outside.
Maybe we can go to the beach!
KIRBY: Perfect!
You go grab the beach stuff,
I'll double check the weather.
CHARLIE: Cool, cool.
KIRBY: No storms,
we're looking good.
CHARLIE: Alright, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, you see that
storm system over Moline?
Forget the beach stuff we
gotta go chase this storm.
KIRBY: Let's do it.
CHARLIE: Alright guys
we gotta go, but stop
by again when we
discover more things
that are weird but true.
KIRBY: Alright check it out.
CHARLIE: We gotta go this way.
Captioned by
Cotter Captioning Services.