PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A group of meteorologists and scientists has a new approach to studying tornadoes: they’re flying drones into them.

The Observation of Tornadoes by U.A.V. Systems, a.k.a. OTUS Project, started in 2024 by flying one drone into a tornado.

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This year, the team is gathering temperature, windspeed, humidity, and pressure by flying around and inside a tornado.

Louis Tucker is the lead drone builder and operations coordinator for the project. He says that flying a drone into a tornado is very surreal. “It’s kind of a scary experience. This is not something you usually want to go towards.”

Tucker says the drones he and the team are flying are not just your average consumer-grade drones, but highly spec

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