FARM: Home
FARM
Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets
DOW Network
Doppler on Wheels
Mobile Mesonets & PodNet
Soundings
PoleNet
Disdrometers
The MORC
Request DOW Facility
Research
Tornado Research
Hurricane Research
Publications
Request DOW Data
Outreach
Educational Outreach
Request DOWs for Education
Press
Image Gallery
Contact
Staff
Facility Requests
Data Requests
Live FARM Radar Data
The DOWNET and COWNET portion of the FARM is supported, in part, as a Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF) by the National Science Foundation
Research Projects
LEE 2022-2023
PERiLS 2022-2023
WINTRE-MIX 2022
VORTEX-SE
RELAMPAGO 2018
SNOWIE 2017
OLYMPEX 2016
PECAN 2015
VORTEX2
Education Projects
More ...
External Links
University of Alabama in Huntsville - National Space Science and Technology Center
SWIRLL: Severe Weather Institute - Radar and Lightning Lab
Facebook (@DOWFacility)
Twitter (@DOWFacility)
The Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets (FARM) consists of the DOW radars, mobile mesonets, mobile upper air sounding systems, disdrometers, and ruggedized deployable instrumentation Pods in service to the scientific community.
BAMS Paper Describing FARM
FARM Updated Capabilities (including fully mobile mini-COW) - 2023 AMS Radar
FARM Future Capabilities (including S-band and Bistatic) - 2022 ERAD
Radar Specs
Instrument Specs
Request FARM Facilities
FARM Data (Citing & Downloading)
Mission in Helene's Eye
The University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets (FARM) deployed two DOW mobile radars, a POLENET system, a Mobile Mesonet, and 7 Pods to the eye of Hurricane Helene late on 26 September 2024. DOW radars mapped the horizontal and vertical windfield structure of the eyewall and gusts, while the Pods, POLENET, and Mobile Mesonet measured near-surface winds (1-6 m AGL). Preliminary radar loops are available as we begin analysis of this important dataset.
DOW6 Pre-Eye GURU Movie
DOW6 In-Eye GURU Movie
DOW6 Pre-Eye GIF Loop
DOW6 In-Eye GIF Loop
PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT
2021: DOWs reveal that tornado winds average ~40 mph stronger than EF rating winds. EF ratings average 1.2 - 1.5 categories lower than DOW-determined wind speeds.
See PNAS 2021 paper (link)
BEST Project - Greenfield, IA Tornado (21 May 2024)
The FARM Facility deployed DOW6 & DOW7 mobile radars near Greenfield, IA on 21 May 2024 for the NSF BEST project, collecting radar data that estimates peak winds of 300+ mph. These are some of the fastest winds ever observed by radar on Planet Earth! Unfortunately, this tornado heavily damaged the town of Greenfield, IA and was responsible for 4 deaths. Check out the news media about this tornado below.
FARM OFFICIAL STATEMENT
NBC News Article
NBC News Video
AMS Article
DOW8 deploys on 26 May 2021 tornadoes in Nebraska
DOWs deploy on Hurricane Laura
DOWs 7 and 8 recently traveled to the Texas-Louisiana border to deploy on category 4 Hurricane Laura as it made landfall along the Gulf coast. After two long days of driving, followed by a full day of getting wrapped in duct tape, tarps, and ratchet straps the DOWs began their long night of scanning, hoping to capture elusive mesovortices and TSVs (tornado-scale vortices) in the hurricane eye. The mission was recently featured in the Washington Post (linked below). Click
here
to see a slideshow of our pictures from the deployment.
Washington Post
Photo show
Full page
Link to slideshow:
Link
RELAMPAGO Featured in the New York Times
BLOWN-UNDER
From 20 January to 16 February 2020, DOW7 was on hand for the BLOWN-UNDER project at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. The aim of the project was to study the blowing snow and blizzard conditions common to N.D. in the harsh winter months, and to give students hands-on experience with a mobile weather radar. Ironically, the weather was calm and clear until the end of the project, when the team led by UND professor and project lead Aaron Kennedy, got just the winter weather conditions they were waiting for.
Learn more about the project by reading articles from
KVRR TV
and
UND Today
Remembering the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado
Over twenty-one years ago on May 3, 1999, an extraordinarilly powerful F5 tornado devasted southern Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. It killed 36 people and caused nearly $1 billion in damages, prompting President Bill Clinton to sign a major disaster declaration for the affected areas. DOW2 and DOW3 were both on hand to observe the event for project ROTATE, with DOW3 recording the highest wind speed ever observed on Earth: 301 (+/- 20) mph at the point when the tornado was at its strongest, before striking Moore.
Reference Publications:
Wurman 2002
Lee and Wurman 2005
Wurman et al 2007
Kosiba and Wurman 2013
Research Projects
FARM is engaged in research investigating tornadogenesis and structure as well as hurricane boundary layers and wind damage. The facility has also played a major role in dozens of major NSF research projects including
RELAMPAGO
SNOWIE
PECAN
, and
VORTEX2
. Click
here
for a list of publications in which DOW data have been used.
Education and Outreach
FARM is committed to community outreach as well as the advancement of radar meteorology education. Click
here
for a list of the educational projects in which the facility has been involved. Want the DOWs to show up at your school or community event? Click
here
to make a request.
Tweets by DOWFacility
Facebook:
@DOWFacility
Twitter:
@DOWFacility
Executive Director - Joshua Wurman
jwurman@farmfacility.org
Managing Director - Karen Kosiba
kakosiba@farmfacility.org