Last year, a film about the VORTEX2 project was released. The film includes never before seen images of tornadoes. To safely capture up-close film footage of tornadoes, some project participants traveled in a seven-ton, armored tornado intercept vehicle directly into tornadoes as they formed.

BOB DOUGHTY:

The National Weather Service says the United States gets more severe weather than any other country. For one thing, it is also bigger than most other countries. And it has many different conditions that create many different kinds of weather.

There are seacoasts and deserts, flatlands and mountains. The West Coast is along the Pacific Ocean, which is relatively calm. The East Coast is along the Atlantic Ocean, which is known for its hurricanes. These strike mainly the southeastern states.

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BARBARA KLEIN: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake and George Grow. June Simms was our producer. I'm Barbara Klein.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I'm Bob Doughty. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.