OTUS reports 13 drone intercepts across 10 tornadoes

By Sophie Lindqvist

OTUS reports 13 drone intercepts across 10 tornadoes, including a funnel flight less than three months after the team formed the project. The team says it has collected thermodynamic and flight data, but publication will likely take months.

The Observations of Tornadoes by UAV Systems initiative combines storm science, custom engineering and documentary filmmaking. Its stated aim is to improve predictive models and hazard forecasts through wind and thermodynamic measurements that can support structural resilience.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Severe Storms Laboratory says substantial uncertainty remains around tornadoes. It also describes them as rare, difficult to predict and capable of billions of dollars in damage, which explains the demand for measurements close to the funnel.

What do the drones measure?

Each 3D-printed, hand-built unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) carries thermodynamic sensors, flight telemetry for aircraft-status and flight-data reporting, and custom weather instrumentation. Before entering a funnel, the aircraft measures temperature, humidity, pressure and wind speed in the surrounding air at different altitudes.

OTUS has partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a vertical wind-speed sensor. The intended instrument will measure thermodynamic conditions and three-dimensional wind loads near the surface around tornadoes.

For tornado work, fast response and environmental protection conflict with the need to leave the sensing element exposed and uncontaminated. Three-axis wind measurement supplies directional information rather than a single speed value, which is why the project emphasizes a purpose-built sensor.

OTUS says there is “no lightweight sensor on the market which can measure such intense winds.” The available account gives no accuracy class, resolution, sampling rate, calibration interval or uncertainty budget, and it does not report NIST validation of a finished instrument.

The instrument’s published performance remains the central unknown.

How does a tornado intercept work?

Each mission begins with circular and orbital passes around the tornado, sampling the surrounding atmosphere at different altitudes. The drone then crosses the funnel, so one intercept links conditions outside the circulation with measurements inside it.

OTUS’s first UAV entered a tornado less than three months after the project’s formation. The team calls this inside-and-outside sequence a way to build a comprehensive picture of air motion around and within the circulation.

The project says no ground-based sensor system has achieved the same collection. That remains a project claim; the account provides no comparison test or field record supporting it.

The aggregate count does not reveal how many of the 13 intercepts crossed a funnel rather than circling outside one. Nor does it specify sample duration, sensor spacing, telemetry rate or whether multiple aircraft flew together.

Each sortie connects conditions outside the funnel with conditions inside it.

What limits repeatable flights?

Under the rules cited by the project, unmanned operations require visual line of sight (VLOS) and operation below 400 feet in uncontrolled airspace. Flying over people, operating at night or going beyond VLOS requires an agency waiver.

Those waivers can take a lengthy time, and OTUS says extreme-weather scheduling adds to the burden. Every mission therefore requires an operational plan that addresses regulation and the storm at once.

The team says tornado rotations can reach more than 300 mph. Louis Tucker has flown a drone through such rotations more than a dozen times, according to OTUS, which credits his record with showing that drone-based tornado research was possible with the right engineering.

Regulatory approval and pilot exposure both limit how often the team can repeat an intercept.

Who is flying the research aircraft?

OTUS was established by Nelson Tucker, Louis Tucker, Tanner Beard and Erik Fox. Nelson Tucker, a meteorology student at Millersville University and a researcher with Tornado Talk, serves as founder and president. Louis Tucker serves as CEO and lead pilot.

Tanner Beard, an aerospace engineer and spacecraft systems engineer, designed the custom drone architecture. Erik Fox, a retired Army veteran, meteorologist, storm chaser and president of the National Storm Chaser Summit, serves as safety lead and field-operations expert.

According to OTUS, Louis Tucker became the 2023 National Collegiate Drone Racing Champion and helped lead his school to a first-place finish in 2024. The project credits that experience with demonstrating that drone-based tornado research was possible when paired with the right engineering.

The team brings relevant credentials, but published measurements will provide the real test.

Can the measurements improve tornado warnings?

The team said: “We have collected incredible measurements that we are very eager to share with the wider world. It will likely be months before we can share this.” The statement provides no sampling conditions, uncertainty estimate or accuracy result.

OTUS expects the campaign to improve forecasting and alert times, strengthen structural resilience and guide next-generation wind sensors. The team says it must first demonstrate the scientific credibility and accuracy of its data before wider release.

At a National Storm Chaser Summit presentation a few years earlier, Cabe Atwell recalled veteran chasers audibly gasping during an OTUS demonstration. The presentation included in-tornado video he could not find on the team’s social pages, and he separately highlighted footage of wind patterns over red Oklahoma and Texas dirt.

OTUS remains a research campaign, and its 13 intercepts are not yet an operational forecasting tool. The adoption test is clear: can the team repeat its flights under FAA-approved conditions and publish calibration and uncertainty data sufficient to support warning thresholds or structural design rules?