TOtable Tornado Observatory
Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOT : TOtable Tornado Observatory
The TOtable Tornado Observatory (nicknamed "TOTO" after the dog in the movie The Wizard of Oz) was a large, instrumented metal barrel which scientists attempted to put in the path of a tornado during the 1980's. Invented in 1979 by Dr. Al Bedard and Carl Ramzy of NOAA's Environmental Technology Laboratory, it was hoped that TOTO could be placed in the path of a tornado, recording priceless data about the tornado's structure.
TOTO was deployed several times during the 1980's, and, unfortunately, scientists were never able to get TOTO directly in the path of a tornado. On April 30, 1985, TOTO was left near the edge of a developing tornado. However, it was merely blown over, even though the tornado had weak winds—assumptions that TOTO could stand up to high winds turned out to be false. TOTO was retired in 1987, and is currently on display at NOAA facilities in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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