Its called VORTEX2, Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment 2. It consists of 40 vehicles, 100 students/scientist, and is funded by more than a dozen organizations. It is used to explore and learn about tornados so that we can better understand and predict tornados. And it was in Kimball on Friday, June 5.The reason for the stop in Kimball?“This is a good staging area,” said Keli Pirtle Tarp, Public Affairs Specialist for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “There will possibly be some strong storms in the area,” she said. Kimball also provides them with wide open spaces without the hindrance of trees. Tarp said the group of 100 students and scientist spent the night in Sterling, Colo. before being briefed and heading to Kimball the next day.With 40 vehicles in the convoy, the team searches the area for storms, or tornadic super-cell thunderstorm. When they see one with potential they surround it and then deploy the close range instruments and vehicles into the storm. “We have many vehicles and instruments in one area at one time to collect as much information as we can,” said Tarp.  The VORTEX2 team will be gathering data from May 10-June 13. At which time they will return and begin to study their findings. Results from the previous VORTEX program (in 1994-1995) were shown to have improved NWS (National Weather Service) tornado warnings during the late 90s. In a press release from the NSSL/NOAA it is stated that, “The scientists, students, and professional forecasters participating in V2 are hopeful that as we improve our understanding of tornado formation, that new understanding of these violent storms will again translate into improved tornado forecasts and warnings during the next decade.”Looking for a tornado can be something of a crap shoot but apparently it paid off. According to a report from the Storm Prediction Center there was at least four reports of tornados in the area. Two came in from the Harrisburg area, one from the LaGrange, Wyo. area and another from the Scotts Bluff County area. There is no report of damage or of the size of the tornado(s). Further, it is not known if this is four reports of the same storm. All reports were within a 30 minute time period. There is a disclaimer on the web site that’s reads, “All data is considered preliminary.”