Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO)
Encyclopedia
The Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO) was founded by Terence Meaden in 1974. Originally called the Tornado Research Organisation it was expanded in 1982 following the inclusion of the Thunderstorm Census Organisation (TCO) after the death of its founder Morris Bower and his wife.
TORRO comprises nearly 400 members in the United Kingdom
and others from around the world, from amateurs to professional meteorologists, and almost 30 staff. TORRO maintains a large storm spotter
network throughout the British Isles
and collects and records reports of severe weather.
TORRO carries out research on many aspects of severe weather including ball lightning
, blizzard
s & heavy snowfall, coastal impacts, hail
storms, lightning
impacts, tornado
es, thunderstorm
s, weather disasters, and weather & health.
Tornadoes in the UK are classified using the T-scale
. TORRO has also developed a hailstorm intensity scale.
TORRO tornado watches and warnings are now released to the public via Torro and the UKweatherworld weather forum.
TORRO comprises nearly 400 members in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and others from around the world, from amateurs to professional meteorologists, and almost 30 staff. TORRO maintains a large storm spotter
Storm spotter
A storm spotter is a specific type of weather spotter who actively maintains a visual watch of the development and progression of specific weather events while actively relaying important information to the local weather agency in a timely manner.- History :...
network throughout the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and collects and records reports of severe weather.
TORRO carries out research on many aspects of severe weather including ball lightning
Ball lightning
Ball lightning is an unexplained atmospheric electrical phenomenon. The term refers to reports of luminous, usually spherical objects which vary from pea-sized to several metres in diameter. It is usually associated with thunderstorms, but lasts considerably longer than the split-second flash of a...
, blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
s & heavy snowfall, coastal impacts, hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
storms, lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
impacts, tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es, thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s, weather disasters, and weather & health.
Tornadoes in the UK are classified using the T-scale
TORRO scale
The TORRO tornado intensity scale is a scale measuring tornado intensity between T0 and T11. It was developed by Terence Meaden of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation , a meteorological organisation in the United Kingdom, as an extension of the Beaufort scale.- History and derivation from...
. TORRO has also developed a hailstorm intensity scale.
TORRO tornado watches and warnings are now released to the public via Torro and the UKweatherworld weather forum.