By AP/KWMU
Mascoutah, Ill. – Tornado season is about half-way
through, but the season for strong thunderstorms and straight-line winds is just starting.
That's why scientists from across the country are gathering at MidAmerica Airport near St. Louis Monday.
They are launching a $4 million study of huge storm systems called "bow echoes" to help forecasters better predict
them.
These big storms can cause straight-line winds that are as strong as the tornadoes that swept across Missouri and the rest of
the country this month.
Scientists are also studying mesoscale convective vortices, or MCVs - which
trigger flash flooding.
During the study researchers will track these storms as they move across the Midwest this spring and summer.