Listening for Tornadoes with Sound | Wichita News

Wichita News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 17, 2026 · 1m

Scientists at Oklahoma State University are pioneering a revolutionary way to detect tornadoes by listening for their hidden sonic signature—low-frequency infrasound. Imagine a storm as an orchestra; they’re tuning in to the “cello” of the tornado, filtering out all other noise. With no lab to simulate tornadoes, they deploy custom microphone arrays across storm-prone areas like Kansas, guided by atmospheric models. A breakthrough moment came last May when they isolated a distinct sound from a multi-tornado storm and used AI to pinpoint its origin. While still years away from reliable…