With funding from the National Science Foundation and other government grants, scientists and meteorologists from the Center for Severe Weather Research try to get close to supercell storms and tornadoes in an effort to better understand tornado structure and strength, how low-level winds affect and damage buildings, and to learn more about tornado formation and prediction. The team embarked on a three-day trip into the High Plains of the U.S. in early May 2017, chasing supercell thunderstorms as part of their research project titled 'TWIRL.' TWIRL is short for 'Tornado Winds: In Situ and Radar Observation at Low Levels.'
Tim Marshall, a 40-year veteran of storm chasing, watches a supercell storm develop near Agate, Colorado on May 8, 2017.
Support scientist an Rachel Humphrey monitors a supercell thunderstorm from one of the tornado scout vehicles, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County near Agate, Colorado. When she isn't chasing storms, Humphrey is a meteorology instructor at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
(L to R) Meteorologist Nicholas Stewart and Robin Duspara, who traveled to the U.S. from Prague and runs the Czech Thunderstorm Research Association, pull over and hop out of their cars to observe a supercell thunderstorm as it bears down on the area, May 9, 2017 in Lamb County, Texas.
Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes during a supercell thunderstorm in Lamb County, Texas.
A vehicle drives down a road as it chases a supercell thunderstorm, May 9, 2017 in Lamb County, Texas. One of the greatest dangers in storm chasing is high speed vehicle accidents; rather than injuries or fatalities from the storms themselves.
Traveling in a tornado scouting vehicle equipped with radar and GPS, Tim Marshall, a 40 year veteran of storm chasing, points out a developing funnel cloud as they chase a supercell thunderstorm, May 8, 2017 in Elbert County near Agate, Colorado.
(L to R) Marcus Gutierrez, crew member and driver of the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) vehicle, and meteorologist Josh Wurman (L), president and founder of the Center For Severe Weather Research, sit in lawn as they wait for a thunderstorm develop during a tornado research mission, May 9, 2017 in Portales, New Mexico
Tim Marshall looks out the window of a tornado scout vehicle as the group tracks a supercell thunderstorm in Quanah, Texas.
Center for Severe Weather Research intern Hunter Anderson hustles back to the tornado scout vehicle after taking photographs of a supercell thunderstorm, May 10, 2017 in Quanah, Texas.
Safety lights flash as Hunter Anderson consults with Rachel Humphrey, support scientist and driver of a tornado scout vehicle, as a supercell thunderstorm bears down on the area in Lamb County, Texas.
A church dots the horizon as a thunderstorm rolls into the area in Paducah, Texas, May 10, 2017.