A film about the VORTEX2 project opened at some theaters in the United States last month. 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.

KATHERINE COLE:

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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BOB DOUGHTY: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Brianna Blake. June Simms was our producer. I'm Bob Doughty.

KATHERINE COLE: And I'm Katherine Cole. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. And if you have a science question, send it to special@voanews.com. We might answer it on our program. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.