Wind: The Invisible Force

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0:00:05 > 0:00:10Weather. One of the most astonishing forces on Earth.

0:00:10 > 0:00:16Capable of both devastating power and spectacular beauty.

0:00:17 > 0:00:22Wherever you live on the planet, weather shapes your world.

0:00:23 > 0:00:26Yet for most of us, how it works is a mystery.

0:00:29 > 0:00:33To really understand weather, you have to get inside it.

0:00:37 > 0:00:40So I'm going to strip weather back to basics.

0:00:41 > 0:00:42All in the name of science.

0:00:42 > 0:00:45'Uncovering its secrets in a series of brave...

0:00:46 > 0:00:48'..ambitious...

0:00:48 > 0:00:53'and sometimes just plain unlikely experiments.'

0:00:53 > 0:00:56Well, it certainly feels like a dust storm from here.

0:00:56 > 0:00:59'To show you weather like you've never seen it before.'

0:01:11 > 0:01:14There is a powerful invisible force

0:01:14 > 0:01:18that moves around us almost unnoticed.

0:01:21 > 0:01:26A force that drives almost all the extreme weather on our planet.

0:01:32 > 0:01:33That force...

0:01:33 > 0:01:35is wind.

0:01:35 > 0:01:38WIND HOWLS

0:01:42 > 0:01:45'In this programme, I'll discover

0:01:45 > 0:01:49'how wind creates that extreme weather.

0:01:49 > 0:01:51'What it's capable of...

0:01:51 > 0:01:55'and just how fast it can go.'

0:01:55 > 0:01:56Whoa!

0:02:01 > 0:02:06'Along the way I'll attempt to measure the speed of a tornado,

0:02:06 > 0:02:08'right next to the ground...'

0:02:08 > 0:02:09Oh! That's huge!

0:02:09 > 0:02:16'I'll create a whirlwind made of fire to discover how a wind

0:02:16 > 0:02:17'becomes a spinning wind.

0:02:19 > 0:02:22'And I'll become one of the few people in history

0:02:22 > 0:02:25'to deliberately walk into the middle of a twister.'

0:02:27 > 0:02:28I'm going in.

0:02:35 > 0:02:40This is said to be the place with the worst weather in the world.

0:02:43 > 0:02:48A place so forbidding that only the fearless

0:02:48 > 0:02:53or the foolhardy would want to experience it.

0:03:01 > 0:03:03So, hazard a guess where we're starting.

0:03:09 > 0:03:11This is Mount Washington,

0:03:11 > 0:03:15in the unlikely location of New Hampshire, USA.

0:03:20 > 0:03:26You wouldn't expect extreme weather to be found in New England

0:03:26 > 0:03:29but on April 12th, 1934,

0:03:29 > 0:03:31Mount Washington weather station

0:03:31 > 0:03:35measured one of the fastest wind speeds ever recorded on land.

0:03:39 > 0:03:41231mph.

0:03:50 > 0:03:55In fact, winds here hit hurricane force more than 100 days a year.

0:03:58 > 0:04:02Now, bear that in mind during the next couple of minutes.

0:04:04 > 0:04:10Because I'm about to take a little walk outside.

0:04:11 > 0:04:14OK, just popping out.

0:04:14 > 0:04:17Which is, it turns out, quite a chore out here.

0:04:17 > 0:04:22I can not only hear the wind around this building, I can feel it.

0:04:23 > 0:04:25The whole place is vibrating.

0:04:25 > 0:04:27Oh, no! I've forgotten my goggles.

0:04:28 > 0:04:30This is... This is the...

0:04:30 > 0:04:32Do it in the wrong order and you just, right,

0:04:32 > 0:04:34your eyeballs can freeze, any exposed skin,

0:04:34 > 0:04:37you'll have frostbite on it within two or three minutes.

0:04:40 > 0:04:44Right, that's my best hat, I won't get cold with that on.

0:04:44 > 0:04:49This is to stop my nose falling off, which would be bad because

0:04:49 > 0:04:52I'd never be able to wear sunglasses again and I want to.

0:04:53 > 0:04:54Liner gloves.

0:04:56 > 0:04:58Mittens.

0:04:59 > 0:05:00OK.

0:05:01 > 0:05:06Obviously, I am now obliged by law to say,

0:05:06 > 0:05:10"I'm going outside. I might be some time."

0:05:11 > 0:05:13I mean, that's how cold it is indoors!

0:05:23 > 0:05:28At this point, I think I should try and give you some idea...

0:05:28 > 0:05:32of what I might be in for with a small demonstration.

0:05:37 > 0:05:40The lightest wind you can feel on your face

0:05:40 > 0:05:41is about 5mph.

0:05:44 > 0:05:46Enough to rustle this newspaper.

0:05:50 > 0:05:5415mph and your umbrella gives up the ghost.

0:05:58 > 0:06:0125mph can cause a deckchair to set sail.

0:06:09 > 0:06:14Followed at 30mph by your garden furniture.

0:06:20 > 0:06:2345 and all hell starts to break loose.

0:06:24 > 0:06:28Seemingly rigid structures suddenly make a break for it.

0:06:35 > 0:06:39And at 55mph, even small buildings are on the move.

0:06:46 > 0:06:48So, why am I telling you all this?

0:06:50 > 0:06:55Because on Mount Washington, it's currently 65.

0:06:55 > 0:06:59With gusts reaching a staggering 85mph.

0:07:01 > 0:07:04Believe it or not, I'm actually sheltered at the moment.

0:07:04 > 0:07:07There's hardly any wind right here

0:07:07 > 0:07:09because I'm in the lee of the building.

0:07:09 > 0:07:12It starts about six feet that way

0:07:12 > 0:07:16and then there's a lot of it and the only way to demonstrate it is

0:07:16 > 0:07:18I'm going to go and stand in it.

0:07:18 > 0:07:21And for reasons best known to themselves, Brendan and Sean,

0:07:21 > 0:07:23on camera and sound, have decided to come with me

0:07:23 > 0:07:25because they're idiots.

0:07:25 > 0:07:28So, here we go, right, walking.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31Not windy, not windy...

0:07:31 > 0:07:33Getting windy...

0:07:43 > 0:07:47This is about 65, maybe 70mph worth of wind,

0:07:47 > 0:07:51but don't forget this is the site of one of the highest wind speeds

0:07:51 > 0:07:56ever recorded by man, 231mph.

0:07:56 > 0:07:58How must that feel? I'd be gone!

0:08:07 > 0:08:09They do a calculation around these parts

0:08:09 > 0:08:12where you take your weight in pounds,

0:08:12 > 0:08:15I don't know what I am, it's about 150, 160.

0:08:15 > 0:08:16Halve it, that's the wind speed

0:08:16 > 0:08:18at which you're going to get into trouble,

0:08:18 > 0:08:20which is about this wind speed.

0:08:32 > 0:08:36There are three major storm systems that meet right here,

0:08:36 > 0:08:38sort of long-distance weather patterns,

0:08:38 > 0:08:42and that corner behind me is the most exposed place.

0:08:42 > 0:08:46Which should make that the windiest spot on this whole mountain.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27But lots of places have storm systems.

0:09:27 > 0:09:30Why is it here that's so windy?

0:09:31 > 0:09:34Don't worry about this, they said it was just a precaution.

0:09:34 > 0:09:38So, take my hat, the one that caused this in the first place.

0:09:38 > 0:09:41Let's pretend this is Mount Washington,

0:09:41 > 0:09:44this desk fan is the wind

0:09:44 > 0:09:49and we can see the wind hitting the top of the mountain.

0:09:49 > 0:09:52Mount Washington is the highest thing for miles around.

0:09:52 > 0:09:55So, although there are hills here

0:09:55 > 0:09:58and here, and...

0:09:58 > 0:09:59a town here...

0:09:59 > 0:10:01and a ski resort there...

0:10:01 > 0:10:04they make no difference to the wind hitting Mount Washington,

0:10:04 > 0:10:08they're not high enough as obstacles to block it or disrupt its flow.

0:10:08 > 0:10:12So, any wind there is will hit the top of the mountain.

0:10:13 > 0:10:16But there's another reason why it's so windy up there

0:10:16 > 0:10:20and it's complicated enough to demand a clipboard.

0:10:20 > 0:10:22All our weather happens in the troposphere,

0:10:22 > 0:10:25the first 11 miles or so of our atmosphere.

0:10:25 > 0:10:29And the top of that layer acts as a sort of ceiling.

0:10:29 > 0:10:32You know what it's like when you squeeze the end of a garden hose

0:10:32 > 0:10:34and the water comes out more powerfully and quickly

0:10:34 > 0:10:37because it's squeezed through a narrower gap.

0:10:37 > 0:10:40It's exactly the same here.

0:10:40 > 0:10:41Lose this.

0:10:41 > 0:10:43It's a precaution.

0:10:43 > 0:10:46The wind is forced through the gap between the top of the mountain

0:10:46 > 0:10:48and the top of the troposphere.

0:10:48 > 0:10:52That's a narrower gap so it speeds up

0:10:52 > 0:10:54and that's why

0:10:54 > 0:10:57it always tends to be windy at the top of a hill.

0:11:00 > 0:11:04So, wind is just air rushing from one place to another.

0:11:06 > 0:11:10Speeding up as it goes through narrow gaps,

0:11:10 > 0:11:12slowing down as it hits obstacles.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18There are winds near the ground that blow locally

0:11:18 > 0:11:22and ones high in the air that can blow long distances.

0:11:24 > 0:11:28And that is information you can use to your advantage.

0:11:28 > 0:11:29Right.

0:11:29 > 0:11:31Here's how to amaze your friends.

0:11:31 > 0:11:34First, stand with the wind at your back.

0:11:36 > 0:11:39Then you're looking for clouds.

0:11:39 > 0:11:43If those clouds are moving overhead directly away from you,

0:11:43 > 0:11:46or directly towards you,

0:11:46 > 0:11:49or they're stationary,

0:11:49 > 0:11:53then the weather is going to stay broadly the same.

0:11:53 > 0:11:58If they're moving from left to right, it's going to get worse.

0:11:58 > 0:12:03If they're moving from right to left, it's going to improve.

0:12:03 > 0:12:09So, right to left, better, left to right, worse.

0:12:09 > 0:12:12Straight down the middle stays the same.

0:12:13 > 0:12:15As long as you have your back to the wind.

0:12:17 > 0:12:19Unless you're in the southern hemisphere,

0:12:19 > 0:12:21in which case you reverse that bit.

0:12:22 > 0:12:24It's brilliant, isn't it? Really clever.

0:12:24 > 0:12:27I mean, it's not 100% foolproof

0:12:27 > 0:12:29because weather is really complicated

0:12:29 > 0:12:31but it works more often than not

0:12:31 > 0:12:33and that's about as much as you can say

0:12:33 > 0:12:36of any form of weather forecasting, isn't it?

0:12:39 > 0:12:43And the clouds must have been travelling right to left

0:12:43 > 0:12:44up on Mount Washington...

0:12:48 > 0:12:51..because the next morning is truly spectacular.

0:13:01 > 0:13:05Unusually for this time of year, the cloud lifts

0:13:05 > 0:13:08and the wind subsides...

0:13:08 > 0:13:09slightly.

0:13:24 > 0:13:30And I venture back outside into a suddenly magical landscape.

0:13:36 > 0:13:39Folks around here quite proudly proclaim

0:13:39 > 0:13:42that it has the worst weather in the world.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44And, well, I don't know.

0:13:44 > 0:13:48I mean, severe, yes, but looking at it like this,

0:13:48 > 0:13:50worst, I'm not so sure.

0:13:54 > 0:13:58But there's no doubt that this is a place shaped by wind.

0:14:02 > 0:14:05It's so windy here that the buildings have to be chained down.

0:14:10 > 0:14:14Even the ice appears to fly off in frozen streamers.

0:14:19 > 0:14:22These streamers don't point away from the wind.

0:14:22 > 0:14:25They grow towards it.

0:14:25 > 0:14:26And here's how.

0:14:28 > 0:14:31Ice crystals are carried through the air by the wind.

0:14:37 > 0:14:40But the moment they touch an object, they freeze tight.

0:14:44 > 0:14:48The next ice crystal to be blown in freezes to the first...

0:14:52 > 0:14:56..gradually building outwards in the direction they blew in from.

0:14:58 > 0:15:00And that gives me an idea.

0:15:02 > 0:15:05I've thought of another way you can see wind.

0:15:05 > 0:15:07I looked around and a lot of the snow that I can see in the air

0:15:07 > 0:15:10isn't falling, it's being blown by the wind,

0:15:10 > 0:15:12sticking to any available surface.

0:15:12 > 0:15:16So, I've got a pocket full of this biodegradable confetti.

0:15:16 > 0:15:18Let's wait for a good gust.

0:15:26 > 0:15:30Watch how the confetti blows in swirling patterns.

0:15:32 > 0:15:35You'd think that at these wind speeds everything would just get

0:15:35 > 0:15:39whisked away in a perfectly straight line, but it doesn't.

0:15:44 > 0:15:48It rolls and curls like waves crashing onto a beach.

0:15:49 > 0:15:52And occasionally, those rolling eddies

0:15:52 > 0:15:54turn into tightly knit spirals...

0:15:55 > 0:15:59..in a shape scientists call a vortex.

0:16:01 > 0:16:05It's a shape that's crucial to our story.

0:16:05 > 0:16:09Because almost all the weather we think of as extreme

0:16:09 > 0:16:11is based around them.

0:16:12 > 0:16:15This isn't just about strong winds,

0:16:15 > 0:16:19it's about the other types of weather that wind can produce.

0:16:26 > 0:16:29Dust devils...

0:16:29 > 0:16:32waterspouts...

0:16:32 > 0:16:34tornadoes.

0:16:35 > 0:16:39All are spinning winds based on this vortex pattern.

0:16:42 > 0:16:46Even hurricanes and cyclones have the same spiral shape.

0:16:50 > 0:16:54But to see how those spirals come about, I'm going to examine

0:16:54 > 0:16:58perhaps the most unusual vortex of them all.

0:17:03 > 0:17:05It's called a fire whirl.

0:17:06 > 0:17:10And because they're made entirely of flames,

0:17:10 > 0:17:13it's easier to see the twisting structure.

0:17:17 > 0:17:21Right here is where I'm most likely to find one.

0:17:23 > 0:17:26The tinder-dry forests of Western Australia.

0:17:29 > 0:17:32The vegetation here is so flammable

0:17:32 > 0:17:36that any stray match or lightning strike

0:17:36 > 0:17:38can have it ablaze in seconds.

0:17:43 > 0:17:48There are 50,000 bush fires a year in Australia

0:17:48 > 0:17:52and almost any one of them is capable of creating a fire whirl.

0:17:59 > 0:18:02But because the fires are so impenetrable

0:18:02 > 0:18:06and because fire whirls tend to be so short-lived,

0:18:06 > 0:18:09it's very rare to actually see one.

0:18:14 > 0:18:18Which is why the best way to examine a fire whirl

0:18:18 > 0:18:20is to build one.

0:18:21 > 0:18:26But I'm not going to set about building a fire whirl on my own,

0:18:26 > 0:18:29which is why I have brought two of the world's leading authorities

0:18:29 > 0:18:32on fire whirls over from Japan to help.

0:18:34 > 0:18:39Dr Kazunori Kuwana and engineer Kozo Sekimoto

0:18:39 > 0:18:45have spent many years looking at how, and why, fire whirls spin.

0:18:45 > 0:18:48And they've agreed to lend us a hand

0:18:48 > 0:18:51to try and start our very own fire whirl.

0:18:53 > 0:18:54But I've just discovered

0:18:54 > 0:18:58this is the first time they've built a full scale one.

0:18:58 > 0:18:59Which is a worry.

0:19:03 > 0:19:06Especially when I see them messing about with baking tins.

0:19:09 > 0:19:12Of course, we have the fire authorities on hand.

0:19:16 > 0:19:18But at the moment they look like they are just there to help

0:19:18 > 0:19:20with the washing-up.

0:19:23 > 0:19:25Time to find out what's going on.

0:19:30 > 0:19:31Chaps.

0:19:31 > 0:19:33Baking tins.

0:19:33 > 0:19:35I'm intrigued. How does this work?

0:19:35 > 0:19:40We are trying to create a fire whirl on top of the baking pans.

0:19:40 > 0:19:44We put heptane, a combustible liquid, in the pans.

0:19:44 > 0:19:46Heptane. Is that what that is?

0:19:46 > 0:19:48This is water.

0:19:48 > 0:19:51You know that doesn't burn, don't you, at all?

0:19:51 > 0:19:54Right. We put heptane on top of the water layer.

0:19:54 > 0:19:59I knew that. OK. Why are they arranged in this L configuration?

0:19:59 > 0:20:04If the fire, the shape of fire is entirely symmetric,

0:20:04 > 0:20:06swirling motion wouldn't occur.

0:20:06 > 0:20:11So, we need some kind of trigger to create a swirling motion.

0:20:11 > 0:20:14This shape, this asymmetry somehow triggers something

0:20:14 > 0:20:16that we're going to see?

0:20:16 > 0:20:17Exactly.

0:20:17 > 0:20:22Good. Will it ultimately get rid of these flies?

0:20:22 > 0:20:25Because... Aargh! I see why you are wearing these nets.

0:20:25 > 0:20:27I thought you were beekeepers when I arrived.

0:20:27 > 0:20:30It is unimaginably unpleasant.

0:20:30 > 0:20:34But this isn't merely an extreme type of pest control.

0:20:34 > 0:20:38We are going to see if these 30 baking tins

0:20:38 > 0:20:42can help us create a spinning vortex.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45And we are not just looking for this vortex effect here,

0:20:45 > 0:20:48we're also going to be looking from up there.

0:20:49 > 0:20:51We need a bird's-eye view

0:20:51 > 0:20:54if we are going to reveal what makes a wind spin.

0:20:55 > 0:21:00And this remote controlled copter is the perfect way to get it.

0:21:00 > 0:21:02That is why I've brought that guy.

0:21:04 > 0:21:09That guy is the drone's pilot, Hai Tran,

0:21:09 > 0:21:14a man with 25 years' experience of flying remote cameras.

0:21:16 > 0:21:20I pop over to brief him on what we're after.

0:21:20 > 0:21:23Right, so if we get a fire whirl going out there,

0:21:23 > 0:21:28this spinning vortex, I need a shot directly over the top of it,

0:21:28 > 0:21:31as it forms, you there looking down, we'll get the circle.

0:21:31 > 0:21:33Just there like that.

0:21:33 > 0:21:38Right, so you want me to fly over a tornado that is breathing fire?

0:21:38 > 0:21:40You have used very emotive language there.

0:21:40 > 0:21:43I mean, essentially, yes. Yes.

0:21:43 > 0:21:45- OK.- I mean, yes.

0:21:45 > 0:21:47I think we are going to have problems there with all the wind

0:21:47 > 0:21:49and the heat that is coming off the fire.

0:21:49 > 0:21:51I think carbon fibre is pretty durable

0:21:51 > 0:21:54but the propellers are plastic, so they'll probably melt off

0:21:54 > 0:21:55at some stage.

0:21:55 > 0:21:59So, how will you know if that starts happening. It'll warn you?

0:21:59 > 0:22:02Because, presumably, if you get close and you hit the wind,

0:22:02 > 0:22:06you'll see it go all jiggly and you can go higher?

0:22:06 > 0:22:09Er, no, these things are stabilised

0:22:09 > 0:22:12so the first thing we will see is the copter heading towards the fire.

0:22:12 > 0:22:16So, the stabiliser will cancel out any effect of the heat

0:22:16 > 0:22:18- until it melts?- Yes.

0:22:18 > 0:22:20Turn the stabiliser off.

0:22:20 > 0:22:22Well... Go in raw!

0:22:22 > 0:22:24Yeah, OK, erm...

0:22:24 > 0:22:25You can tell your friends,

0:22:25 > 0:22:28"No stabiliser and I flew it into the fiery tornado thing."

0:22:28 > 0:22:31- We are talking about what, 160km winds?- Yeah.

0:22:31 > 0:22:34Yeah, no. No.

0:22:34 > 0:22:40'I try to explain to Hai why fire is important to this whole story.'

0:22:41 > 0:22:44Because heat can create winds.

0:22:46 > 0:22:48Let me demonstrate

0:22:48 > 0:22:49with this cooker.

0:22:53 > 0:22:59Now, imagine the hobs represent the Earth being heated up by the sun.

0:23:02 > 0:23:07Hot air rises off the hob just as it does from the hot ground,

0:23:07 > 0:23:11making the air above the flames less dense,

0:23:11 > 0:23:13and therefore, lower pressure.

0:23:16 > 0:23:21But the cold air around the oven is still at normal pressure

0:23:21 > 0:23:28so it rushes in to fill the gap, turning these children's windmills.

0:23:34 > 0:23:38And we can prove that the air is rushing towards the flames

0:23:38 > 0:23:40with the smoke from this match.

0:23:47 > 0:23:52Higher pressure air rushing towards lower pressure air.

0:23:52 > 0:23:55That is the basis of wind.

0:23:57 > 0:24:01Using flames only accentuates the effect,

0:24:01 > 0:24:04which is why a massive fire is the best way

0:24:04 > 0:24:06to create our own extreme wind.

0:24:08 > 0:24:10But it still doesn't tell us

0:24:10 > 0:24:14how that extreme wind can start spinning.

0:24:17 > 0:24:20That is why we need the drone.

0:24:22 > 0:24:24So, here's the plan.

0:24:24 > 0:24:27First, we get a flammable liquid called heptane

0:24:27 > 0:24:29and fill the pans with it.

0:24:31 > 0:24:33Once they're all full, we'll set light to them.

0:24:35 > 0:24:38If Kazu and Kozo are right, their L-shape arrangement

0:24:38 > 0:24:41will spontaneously trigger a fire whirl.

0:24:42 > 0:24:46Next, we'll introduce some coloured smoke to see if our eye-in-the-sky

0:24:46 > 0:24:49can capture the wind patterns at work.

0:24:52 > 0:24:55Right, let's give it a go.

0:24:55 > 0:24:57Time to stand well back.

0:25:08 > 0:25:12At first, it all seems a bit underwhelming.

0:25:12 > 0:25:14It looks, well,

0:25:14 > 0:25:17it looks like 30 baking tins on fire.

0:25:20 > 0:25:25But as cold air rushes in, it feeds the flames.

0:25:26 > 0:25:30And then, quite suddenly, they begin to spin.

0:25:30 > 0:25:32There it is.

0:25:40 > 0:25:44The spin seems to intensify the fire even more.

0:25:48 > 0:25:52The flames grow higher.

0:25:52 > 0:25:55And higher, until they tower above us.

0:25:55 > 0:25:57It's massive!

0:25:57 > 0:26:00A real-life fire whirlwind.

0:26:10 > 0:26:16And it seems that Hai is prepared to give it a go after all.

0:26:19 > 0:26:22Climbing 20. Roger that.

0:26:22 > 0:26:26If he can get close enough then we've a chance of seeing

0:26:26 > 0:26:28how a fire whirl actually works.

0:26:33 > 0:26:35There's a bit of turbulence up there.

0:26:35 > 0:26:38Yeah, roger that.

0:26:38 > 0:26:41Remember, they have no way of seeing that turbulence.

0:26:43 > 0:26:46I think we are getting a bit close to the fire, Sam.

0:26:46 > 0:26:51He won't know he is in trouble until the controls stop responding

0:26:51 > 0:26:54and the copter literally melts out of the air.

0:27:27 > 0:27:28That's looking great, mate.

0:27:31 > 0:27:33OK, so now for the tricky bit.

0:27:33 > 0:27:36Trying to see how our fire whirlwind was formed.

0:27:39 > 0:27:43Just like we did with the cooker, we're going to introduce some smoke.

0:27:45 > 0:27:50The crosswind is so strong that the smoke stays close to the ground

0:27:50 > 0:27:53and, on the far side, it blows in a pretty straight line.

0:27:57 > 0:28:01But on this side, parts of it bend round the L-shape

0:28:01 > 0:28:03and get sucked in towards it.

0:28:05 > 0:28:09Let me try and explain what's happening here.

0:28:09 > 0:28:10Here's our L.

0:28:12 > 0:28:14And when the wind comes from this direction,

0:28:14 > 0:28:17it rolls around the end of it here,

0:28:17 > 0:28:19and it's drawn towards this fire,

0:28:19 > 0:28:22but it's also drawn towards this one here

0:28:22 > 0:28:25and that sets it spinning, that starts our vortex.

0:28:25 > 0:28:28The vortex rolls along the long arm of the L

0:28:28 > 0:28:31and when it gets to the fire here, it intensifies.

0:28:33 > 0:28:36And that is where our fire whirl is formed.

0:28:38 > 0:28:42The cold air carrying the smoke on the inside of the L

0:28:42 > 0:28:46is being pulled in two directions at once.

0:28:46 > 0:28:49And it's that that creates those little spinning

0:28:49 > 0:28:50swirls of green smoke.

0:28:59 > 0:29:01And, ultimately,

0:29:01 > 0:29:05the fire whirl our team managed to successfully capture on camera.

0:29:15 > 0:29:20Now, obviously you don't generally find baking pans in the wild.

0:29:20 > 0:29:25But natural Ls occur when two separate fire-fronts meet.

0:29:27 > 0:29:30Each creating their own opposing winds.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35And that's also pretty much how

0:29:35 > 0:29:37other types of spinning weather start.

0:29:42 > 0:29:47Two or more winds meeting at different angles and speeds,

0:29:47 > 0:29:53some rising warm air and cold air rushing in to fill the gap.

0:29:53 > 0:29:55Just those simple ingredients

0:29:55 > 0:30:01can produce some of the most extreme forms of weather we have.

0:30:01 > 0:30:07Including the most powerful and deadly wind of them all -

0:30:07 > 0:30:08the tornado.

0:30:14 > 0:30:16Because a tornado is spinning,

0:30:16 > 0:30:20it can move far faster than a normal wind.

0:30:23 > 0:30:26Not in a straight line,

0:30:26 > 0:30:29but in the speed that they can spin.

0:30:32 > 0:30:34And it's that spin that does the damage.

0:30:47 > 0:30:50Look at it this way.

0:30:50 > 0:30:53If I'm spinning this bucket around my head,

0:30:53 > 0:30:55it's not how fast I'm walking towards you

0:30:55 > 0:30:59that dictates how hard it will hit you when I get there.

0:31:00 > 0:31:04Even if I walk really quickly, that speed's irrelevant.

0:31:04 > 0:31:06It's how fast I am spinning the bucket that matters,

0:31:06 > 0:31:09and what's in it to add to the weight,

0:31:09 > 0:31:11and that's how it is with a tornado.

0:31:13 > 0:31:16Debris does most of the damage. That's the weight in the bucket.

0:31:16 > 0:31:19The most destructive force of the tornado itself

0:31:19 > 0:31:22is its spin, its rotational speed.

0:31:25 > 0:31:29Which is why it is remarkable that's the part of the tornado

0:31:29 > 0:31:30we know the least about.

0:31:32 > 0:31:34I'd like to find out why.

0:31:36 > 0:31:41And who better to ask than the Center for Severe Weather Research

0:31:41 > 0:31:43in Boulder, Colorado?

0:31:46 > 0:31:49I make an appointment with its president, Josh Wurman,

0:31:49 > 0:31:53to ask him why that spin speed is still such a mystery.

0:31:55 > 0:31:59Scientists have gotten very good at measuring the winds above the ground

0:31:59 > 0:32:01in the tornado, maybe from 50 metres above the ground

0:32:01 > 0:32:03up to a couple of kilometres.

0:32:03 > 0:32:06But the strongest winds in the tornado are below that.

0:32:06 > 0:32:07We think the strongest winds in the tornado

0:32:07 > 0:32:09might even be below ten metres.

0:32:09 > 0:32:13Using remote sensing with radars, we can get up close,

0:32:13 > 0:32:17we can scan back and forth, but unfortunately, objects block us.

0:32:17 > 0:32:22There's debris, pieces of houses, cows, whatever, flying around

0:32:22 > 0:32:26in the tornado, and that is the one place where we are the most blind.

0:32:26 > 0:32:29Why isn't there just a machine that you can point at a tornado

0:32:29 > 0:32:32and measure it? I mean, it is moving past, why can't you just measure it?

0:32:32 > 0:32:36There are two main challenges with in situ measurements.

0:32:36 > 0:32:39The first is how to get something inside a tornado.

0:32:39 > 0:32:41The tornado is moving down the fields

0:32:41 > 0:32:45and we don't know exactly how it's going, it is an unpredictable path.

0:32:45 > 0:32:48So, getting something in front is very, very hard.

0:32:48 > 0:32:50Challenge number two is what happens when we succeed,

0:32:50 > 0:32:54and that is the tornado runs over the object and destroys it,

0:32:54 > 0:32:57so, unfortunately, the place that we most need to know about

0:32:57 > 0:33:00is the place that it is hardest for us to see.

0:33:00 > 0:33:03If we can understand that better then engineers will be able

0:33:03 > 0:33:07to build better buildings, we'll be able to have better shelters,

0:33:07 > 0:33:10and fewer people will get injured and die in tornadoes.

0:33:11 > 0:33:16But how would you begin to measure the speed of a tornado

0:33:16 > 0:33:17right next to the ground?

0:33:19 > 0:33:24To try and find that out, we must travel another 1,300 miles,

0:33:24 > 0:33:29to the distinctly un-tornado-like landscape of London, Ontario.

0:33:30 > 0:33:33And one remarkable building.

0:34:41 > 0:34:45I'm going to do something a person wouldn't normally do.

0:34:46 > 0:34:47I'm going in.

0:34:49 > 0:34:52This is the heart!

0:34:52 > 0:34:53I'm in!

0:34:55 > 0:34:58This is it. I'm in the eye of it.

0:35:01 > 0:35:07All I can say is, yes, this feels as amazing as I suspect it looks.

0:35:09 > 0:35:15I am in a tornado, it is the most astonishing feeling, it is dizzying.

0:35:15 > 0:35:20The world is roaring past and spinning round me, but I am still.

0:35:20 > 0:35:23This is massively scaled down, of course.

0:35:23 > 0:35:27A real one would be maybe 100 times bigger

0:35:27 > 0:35:30and the wind moving maybe four or five times faster

0:35:30 > 0:35:35but, nevertheless, you get a sense of the relentless, terrifying

0:35:35 > 0:35:38power of one of these things in the wild.

0:35:41 > 0:35:42That is the most daunting sight.

0:35:53 > 0:35:57I've got goose bumps and not just because it is cold in here.

0:36:00 > 0:36:04I can feel the edges of it, I can feel it moving.

0:36:04 > 0:36:09It is like I am touching its flanks. It is a living, breathing thing.

0:36:09 > 0:36:12It's a living, breathing, furious thing.

0:36:17 > 0:36:23This is the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute

0:36:23 > 0:36:25or WindEEE for short.

0:36:27 > 0:36:31And it's the only place on the planet capable of duplicating

0:36:31 > 0:36:34the real-life dynamics of a tornado.

0:36:36 > 0:36:40It does it by using 106 giant fans hidden

0:36:40 > 0:36:45behind the walls and ceiling of the world's first hexagonal wind tunnel.

0:36:47 > 0:36:51The whole structure cost 23 million.

0:36:53 > 0:36:56And it isn't even officially open yet.

0:36:59 > 0:37:03We're pretty much the first visitors to set foot inside.

0:37:05 > 0:37:08Which makes it all the more delicate asking its boss,

0:37:08 > 0:37:11Professor Horia Hangan, for a little favour.

0:37:13 > 0:37:17Just while we're here in this facility,

0:37:17 > 0:37:21I'd really like to just have a little look at velocities

0:37:21 > 0:37:23sort of that way in tornadoes.

0:37:23 > 0:37:25Can we have a...?

0:37:25 > 0:37:28Let's experiment a bit with it.

0:37:28 > 0:37:30Do you mind if we make a bit of a mess?

0:37:30 > 0:37:31Not a massive mess. There might be...

0:37:31 > 0:37:33We'll sweep up.

0:37:33 > 0:37:37You won't know we've been here, everything will be gone.

0:37:37 > 0:37:39That's fine. We can do a little bit of a mess here.

0:37:39 > 0:37:44So, we are prepared to catch some stuff that you throw into it, so...

0:37:44 > 0:37:47- It might happen. Thank you. - You're welcome.

0:37:47 > 0:37:52Good for him. He's trusting us with his 23 million baby.

0:37:59 > 0:38:00Right. Plan.

0:38:00 > 0:38:04They really have let me play, sorry, experiment with this

0:38:04 > 0:38:07incredible installation and I want to look more into velocity,

0:38:07 > 0:38:09see how fast the wind is moving.

0:38:09 > 0:38:14If I introduce these ping pong balls into our tornado,

0:38:14 > 0:38:16I can measure the speed.

0:38:16 > 0:38:17I'm going to feed them to it.

0:38:30 > 0:38:33Go! Rise!

0:38:36 > 0:38:40We think of tornadoes as sucking up everything in their path.

0:38:40 > 0:38:42Turns out, it's not that easy.

0:38:59 > 0:39:01I retreat to the control room

0:39:01 > 0:39:05where the professor and I spend the next four hours

0:39:05 > 0:39:08trying to get something, anything,

0:39:08 > 0:39:10to actually fly inside the tornado.

0:39:14 > 0:39:15With no luck.

0:39:16 > 0:39:19And then I think of the confetti on Mount Washington.

0:39:21 > 0:39:24What we need is something flat and light.

0:39:25 > 0:39:28We find these pink foam squares.

0:39:30 > 0:39:32They're similar to the confetti

0:39:32 > 0:39:34but because they're substantially bigger

0:39:34 > 0:39:37it should be easier to track their progress.

0:39:39 > 0:39:44If we can get those foam squares trapped in the tornado

0:39:44 > 0:39:49and if we can get them lifted up and spun round without being spat out

0:39:49 > 0:39:53then we might be able to time how long it takes one to do a full lap.

0:39:54 > 0:39:57That is a lot of ifs, I know, but fingers crossed.

0:40:03 > 0:40:05We are going to start the fans.

0:40:20 > 0:40:21You see?

0:40:25 > 0:40:26There it is.

0:40:31 > 0:40:33- Looking good.- Yeah. Yeah!

0:40:36 > 0:40:37That's fantastic.

0:40:37 > 0:40:40There it is, it's exactly what we wanted. So, they're held in.

0:40:52 > 0:40:56OK, now we've got the foam squares circling successfully,

0:40:56 > 0:40:58it's time to turn on the tracking technology.

0:41:06 > 0:41:11The computer follows individual squares, one after another.

0:41:12 > 0:41:16So, it can create an average speed from the different trajectories.

0:41:20 > 0:41:22And it works.

0:41:22 > 0:41:24According to the computer,

0:41:24 > 0:41:27it's spinning at a shade over 22mph.

0:41:29 > 0:41:32The first time one has ever been measured this near the ground.

0:41:48 > 0:41:52Now, obviously a real tornado is about 100 times bigger,

0:41:52 > 0:41:55and much, much faster.

0:41:55 > 0:41:59But now we know we can fly things in a fake tornado,

0:41:59 > 0:42:03it stands to reason we can get them fly inside a real one.

0:42:03 > 0:42:06The problem is, how are we going to get them in there?

0:42:07 > 0:42:11I am not standing next to it with a bucket.

0:42:11 > 0:42:13I have tried some things.

0:42:22 > 0:42:25None of them really worked.

0:42:25 > 0:42:26I need help with this.

0:42:30 > 0:42:33So, I have made contact with a scientist

0:42:33 > 0:42:35who says he might have a solution.

0:42:35 > 0:42:39He's asked me to meet him here, in, well,

0:42:39 > 0:42:42as it turns out, the middle of nowhere.

0:44:11 > 0:44:15This bizarre vehicle is the Dominator 3.

0:44:16 > 0:44:20A hand-built, tornado-proof armoured car.

0:44:21 > 0:44:27And as meteorologist Reed Timer explains, it's one of a kind.

0:44:27 > 0:44:29There's no other vehicle like this.

0:44:29 > 0:44:30Just one big meteorological instrument.

0:44:30 > 0:44:32It's like a mobile tornado probe.

0:44:32 > 0:44:35- Has it ever been in the base of a tornado?- This has.

0:44:35 > 0:44:38This is the Dominator 3, so this is brand-new.

0:44:38 > 0:44:40Last year we intercepted three or four tornadoes.

0:44:40 > 0:44:43What happened to Dominators 1 and 2? Gone?

0:44:43 > 0:44:47Oh, no! They're still...they're still on the ground, thankfully.

0:44:49 > 0:44:54What I want to know is, what are the chances of using the Dominator

0:44:54 > 0:44:57to measure the speed of a tornado near the ground?

0:44:57 > 0:45:00Near the base of the tornado is one of the biggest mysteries

0:45:00 > 0:45:03of tornado science and it's also the most important to understand because

0:45:03 > 0:45:07it's those wind speeds that directly impact the structures and cause

0:45:07 > 0:45:09the destruction that we see with tornadoes every spring and summer.

0:45:09 > 0:45:12That's why we built this vehicle, it's to get up close

0:45:12 > 0:45:14and inside those and unravel those mysteries.

0:45:14 > 0:45:17So, if you could get this into a tornado,

0:45:17 > 0:45:19you can deploy something into it

0:45:19 > 0:45:23that will allow you physically to measure the rotational wind speeds?

0:45:23 > 0:45:24Yes.

0:45:24 > 0:45:25It is roughly what I was doing

0:45:25 > 0:45:29with bits of foam in the indoor artificial tornado.

0:45:29 > 0:45:30It's just with a real one.

0:45:30 > 0:45:33- Yeah!- It is, presumably, then, quite incredibly dangerous?

0:45:33 > 0:45:36Yeah, there...there is a level of risk involved,

0:45:36 > 0:45:39but, as a storm chaser, all I've done

0:45:39 > 0:45:42since I was 18 years old is get close to tornadoes.

0:45:42 > 0:45:44Which really begs just one question.

0:45:46 > 0:45:50Are you a scientist, an adrenaline junkie or a lunatic?

0:45:50 > 0:45:52- Probably all the above.- OK.

0:45:52 > 0:45:56Reed sounds like the perfect person for us.

0:45:57 > 0:46:01Using the Dominator, he can get really close to a tornado

0:46:01 > 0:46:07and he's already thought about how he could fire a data-recording probe

0:46:07 > 0:46:08right into it.

0:46:11 > 0:46:15So, I wanted to stop right here because just south of our position,

0:46:15 > 0:46:19right down there, was a F5 tornado back in 1999

0:46:19 > 0:46:22and they recorded the strongest wind speeds ever recorded on the planet.

0:46:22 > 0:46:26Over 300mph, right down here just to our south.

0:46:26 > 0:46:30In less than 21 hours, 74 tornadoes

0:46:30 > 0:46:35touched down in the states of Oklahoma and Kansas.

0:46:35 > 0:46:37The most prolific outbreak in history.

0:46:40 > 0:46:44But the most destructive of them all was right here.

0:46:46 > 0:46:48In the 60 minutes or so of its existence,

0:46:48 > 0:46:50its phenomenal spin speed

0:46:50 > 0:46:55caused more than 1 billion worth of damage.

0:46:55 > 0:47:01Scientists measured the winds inside it at 300mph.

0:47:01 > 0:47:05But those speeds don't tell the whole story.

0:47:06 > 0:47:09Those winds were measured higher up above the ground

0:47:09 > 0:47:12and who knows how strong those wind speeds were right near the surface

0:47:12 > 0:47:13of the strongest tornado in history.

0:47:13 > 0:47:15And that came through right where we are?

0:47:15 > 0:47:18- Yeah.- So, if this were a real situation...

0:47:18 > 0:47:21What do you say? Hot? Live? Whatever.

0:47:21 > 0:47:24If it were coming toward us and you're here with this.

0:47:24 > 0:47:25What happens now?

0:47:25 > 0:47:27Well, we'll look to the southwest.

0:47:27 > 0:47:30If it's not moving side to side at all, it's likely coming right at us.

0:47:30 > 0:47:33So, I'll line up that left edge and make sure we're in the path.

0:47:33 > 0:47:35Then we'll drop the vehicle flush to the ground.

0:47:35 > 0:47:38I'll show you here really quick, and we're inside, of course.

0:47:38 > 0:47:41- Yeah, that would be a good idea. OK.- Here it goes.

0:47:43 > 0:47:45- Is that supposed to happen?- Yeah.

0:47:45 > 0:47:48And then the spikes also go into the ground.

0:47:50 > 0:47:52And then there's the probe, right there,

0:47:52 > 0:47:55and the parachute will pop up when it's at peak flight,

0:47:55 > 0:47:5850 feet up, and it gets sucked into the tornado.

0:47:58 > 0:48:00So, if everything works perfectly,

0:48:00 > 0:48:02that probe will have gone out of there

0:48:02 > 0:48:04and ended up in the tornado,

0:48:04 > 0:48:07spinning around and getting that critical rotational speed?

0:48:07 > 0:48:09Yeah, the tornado will pick it up.

0:48:09 > 0:48:12There's updraughts in the funnel as well, it will pick up the parachute,

0:48:12 > 0:48:13it will spiral around inside,

0:48:13 > 0:48:15measuring temperature, moisture and pressure

0:48:15 > 0:48:16at a rate of five times a second.

0:48:16 > 0:48:19- And all of that will happen? - It's going to one of these years.

0:48:19 > 0:48:22- OK. Good luck.- Thank you. - You never know.

0:48:26 > 0:48:27So, there we have it.

0:48:27 > 0:48:32The Dominator is going to take the place of our woman with a bucket.

0:48:32 > 0:48:36And its compressed air powered roof cannon

0:48:36 > 0:48:40does the job my catapult and paintball gun couldn't.

0:48:43 > 0:48:47Now all they need to do is find a real-life tornado

0:48:47 > 0:48:48and park next to it.

0:48:52 > 0:48:57Obviously that could take a very long time, so Reed and his team are

0:48:57 > 0:48:59on their own from now on, no film crew with them.

0:48:59 > 0:49:04Just them and the Dominator and a very ambitious mission.

0:49:10 > 0:49:12It actually takes six weeks

0:49:12 > 0:49:14but finally Reed and his crew

0:49:14 > 0:49:17are hot on the heels of a real-life twister.

0:49:23 > 0:49:26The trick now is to get as close as they dare.

0:49:26 > 0:49:30Close enough to fire a probe straight into its heart.

0:49:35 > 0:49:39But finding that heart turns out to be pretty tricky.

0:49:39 > 0:49:43That's our GPS position, that's the tornado, two miles southeast.

0:49:43 > 0:49:45We're getting real close!

0:49:47 > 0:49:49It's right here.

0:49:51 > 0:49:55A tornado can travel at about 70mph across the ground.

0:49:55 > 0:49:58Right here, guys. Stop right here.

0:49:58 > 0:50:01And change direction frequently and without warning.

0:50:02 > 0:50:07Which makes getting ahead of one incredibly difficult.

0:50:07 > 0:50:09Got to be up there.

0:50:11 > 0:50:13Right there!

0:50:13 > 0:50:14And they need to get to it quick.

0:50:14 > 0:50:17Turn around. Got to get it turned around!

0:50:17 > 0:50:22The life span of the average twister is just five to ten short minutes.

0:50:24 > 0:50:26Let's go! Let's go!

0:50:48 > 0:50:51There it is. On the right, see? Tornado on the ground, right there.

0:50:51 > 0:50:55- Straight ahead, coming in, coming in, coming in.- Straight ahead.- Go!

0:50:55 > 0:50:57Whoa, that's huge!

0:50:57 > 0:51:01It is huge, about 100 metres across

0:51:01 > 0:51:03and at least a kilometre tall.

0:51:14 > 0:51:16Stop! Stop! Stop!

0:51:17 > 0:51:20Perfect! Fix it.

0:51:20 > 0:51:21Let's stop!

0:51:27 > 0:51:29Oh, my God!

0:51:37 > 0:51:39The tornado is coming straight for them.

0:51:41 > 0:51:42Get ready to shoot!

0:51:47 > 0:51:49It's perfect.

0:51:50 > 0:51:53Deploy! Deploy!

0:51:56 > 0:51:57Coming down!

0:51:59 > 0:52:03Not the best time for the Dominator's window to fail.

0:52:03 > 0:52:06Roll your window up, Reed. You have to roll your window up.

0:52:06 > 0:52:09- Here it is.- Tell me when.

0:52:18 > 0:52:20We're in it! We're in it!

0:52:23 > 0:52:25Shoot! Shoot the pole!

0:52:28 > 0:52:31- It's in.- It's right there, next to us!

0:52:31 > 0:52:34I've seen it go all the way round. It went one full revolution.

0:52:37 > 0:52:38It's in.

0:52:41 > 0:52:42They got the probe inside.

0:52:45 > 0:52:48I saw it make one full revolution then I lost visual on it,

0:52:48 > 0:52:51so I know it at least went around one time.

0:52:51 > 0:52:53But that's only half the challenge.

0:52:53 > 0:52:57Now they need to retrieve it to find out what it recorded.

0:53:02 > 0:53:06They wait for the storm to pass then set off,

0:53:06 > 0:53:10out through the trail of devastation in search of the probe.

0:53:11 > 0:53:12So how far ahead do you think it is?

0:53:12 > 0:53:14Probably about three miles, I would say.

0:53:15 > 0:53:20For some reason, they're not picking up its GPS signal

0:53:20 > 0:53:23so they're reduced to searching on foot.

0:53:23 > 0:53:27When I launched it, I saw it go out over the road that way.

0:53:27 > 0:53:30It spun around like this, all the way around

0:53:30 > 0:53:33and it descended either behind these trees or these trees right here.

0:53:33 > 0:53:35We are within a couple of hundred feet of it right now.

0:53:35 > 0:53:39OK, so it's got to be somewhere over this way, over here.

0:53:39 > 0:53:40I had full visual...

0:53:42 > 0:53:45Against all the odds, they spot it.

0:53:45 > 0:53:47THEY CHEER

0:53:49 > 0:53:51But the probe is damaged.

0:53:53 > 0:53:57Its trip around the twister has torn away the housing,

0:53:57 > 0:53:59leaving the electronics exposed.

0:54:02 > 0:54:05So, were they successful?

0:54:07 > 0:54:11The moment I get word, I'm straight on to Reed to find out.

0:54:12 > 0:54:14- Hi, Reed?- Hey, Richard!

0:54:14 > 0:54:17You got the thing into a tornado?

0:54:17 > 0:54:20- Yes, we did.- Was that a special moment?

0:54:20 > 0:54:23It was a very special moment, a very scary moment too, honestly,

0:54:23 > 0:54:26I think I might be getting a little too old for these tornado intercepts.

0:54:26 > 0:54:29But our ears were popping from the pressure fall,

0:54:29 > 0:54:30it was a pretty intense tornado

0:54:30 > 0:54:34and seeing the probe take off was definitely an amazing feeling.

0:54:34 > 0:54:36- So, you've got it, you've got the probe.- Yep.

0:54:36 > 0:54:40The information is stored on it and what we want to know is

0:54:40 > 0:54:43the speed at the base and the different heights in the tornado.

0:54:43 > 0:54:46That data is possibly on the probe?

0:54:46 > 0:54:49I'm betting it's on the probe, but we'll be able to get it off here.

0:54:49 > 0:54:51It should be any week, any day now.

0:54:51 > 0:54:53We've got so close!

0:54:53 > 0:54:56I mean, yeah, there it is. A lot of that. OK.

0:54:58 > 0:55:01Reed and his team have accomplished something

0:55:01 > 0:55:04that no-one has ever done before.

0:55:06 > 0:55:12They've managed to get a flying probe into the base of a tornado.

0:55:12 > 0:55:14CHEERING AND LAUGHING

0:55:16 > 0:55:18Today is the first time we've recovered one that we know

0:55:18 > 0:55:20was inside a tornado.

0:55:20 > 0:55:22This is a huge success for our science mission.

0:55:22 > 0:55:24I'd say this is definitely a stepping stone

0:55:24 > 0:55:26for things to come in the future.

0:55:26 > 0:55:27It's a proud moment.

0:55:31 > 0:55:36Unfortunately, the probe turned out to be too badly damaged,

0:55:36 > 0:55:39so they're planning on doing it all over again.

0:55:47 > 0:55:52We've discovered what winds are and how they begin.

0:55:53 > 0:55:56How their paths can be used to predict the weather.

0:55:59 > 0:56:01We've seen the way a wind can start to spin.

0:56:04 > 0:56:09And how spinning winds are the basis for much of our extreme weather.

0:56:12 > 0:56:16More than anything, we are one step closer to revealing

0:56:16 > 0:56:18one of weather's greatest mysteries.

0:56:18 > 0:56:21How fast a tornado can spin.

0:56:23 > 0:56:27But, for the moment, the actual answer is still a weather secret.

0:56:30 > 0:56:32Next time,

0:56:32 > 0:56:39I try and capture a cloud, to see just how much one really weighs.

0:56:39 > 0:56:42This is a fairly unusual exercise, cloud collecting.

0:56:44 > 0:56:48I discover what would happen if rain fell in one big lump.

0:56:54 > 0:56:59I test the astounding hardness of hail.

0:56:59 > 0:57:00Oh!

0:57:00 > 0:57:04And the unbelievable speed of an avalanche.

0:57:09 > 0:57:12I'm speechless, genuinely speechless.

0:57:14 > 0:57:17You can find out more about Wild Weather

0:57:17 > 0:57:19with The Open University's free wall poster.

0:57:19 > 0:57:23Call 0845 030 3045 or go to...

0:57:27 > 0:57:29..and follow the links to The Open University.