U.S researchers have developed the world’s first drone capable of flying directly into dangerous weather systems to collect real-time atmospheric data

The CopterSonde-3D is designed to improve forecasting of tornadoes, hurricanes and other high-impact weather events by targeting the lower levels of the atmosphere, where changes occur rapidly and current methods fall short.

Unlike weather balloons, which are swept off course or rise too quickly, the drone can be held in position at precise locations. Other drones, by contrast, lack the power to remain stationary in such conditions.

The aircraft is equipped with temperature and humidity sensors arranged to avoid contamination from onboard heat sources. It uses a patented front-scoop design to draw air across its instruments while maintaining flight stability.

According to experts at the University of Oklahoma, the CopterSonde is capable of operating in rapidly evolving storm systems and hazardous environments that are otherwise inaccessible to human observers.

The team plans to enable autonomous flights and eventual deployment across weather monitoring stations, forming a nationwide network of responsive, low-altitude atmospheric sensors.

Delays or inaccuracies in forecasting can reduce warning times for extreme weather, placing lives at risk and limiting emergency response. According to the National Weather Service, average tornado warnings offer just 8 to 13 minutes’ notice. Improved low-level data could enable earlier and more accurate alerts.

In the United States, tornadoes, hurricanes and severe storms cause billions of dollars in damage each year. In 2023 alone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.

Dr Tony Segales, who began developing the drone in 2017 during his doctoral research and now leads its engineering, said: “We designed the CopterSonde to essentially be a weathervane: It points into the wind. That’s the baseline feature from which all the other onboard weather-targeted features were designed.”

The CopterSonde-3D has been tested in more than 1,700 flights across varied environments, including high-altitude terrain in Colorado, humid coastal areas near Houston, and storm-prone regions of the southeastern United States. It was also deployed during the 2023 Rolling Fork tornado outbreak, flying into severe weather alongside researchers from NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory.

The system is now being adapted to operate in extreme conditions, including high winds, icing and sustained electronic stress.

Dr Segales added: “On the engineering side of things, this represents a big challenge. The drone would have to max out during every flight, which puts more stress on the electronics.

“We want to measure the limits of the performance of these drones on extreme events to see how much we can really push the systems for sustained amounts of time.”

In one case, during a 2019 winter storm in central Oklahoma, the drone recorded minute-by-minute changes in precipitation—switching between sleet, ice, rain and freezing rain. 

Dr Tyler Bell, a meteorologist and co-inventor of the system, said: “That’s an example of how we can improve forecasts using this data, because in those conditions half a degree matters, and the Copter can get that half a degree really, really well.”

Bell said traditional weather balloon launches by the U.S National Weather Service take place only twice daily and often miss crucial shifts in the lowest one or two miles of the atmosphere. “That lowest one or two miles of the atmosphere is where we live, and it’s the part that influences a lot of high-impact weather,” he said. “The rate at which it changes is much higher than what those twice-a-day launches can capture.”

He added: “A forecaster could select an area where they wanted more observations, and the drones would collect that data the forecaster needs in the moment.”

A second patent is pending for a related design. Future models are expected to be adapted for specific hazards, including drones engineered to withstand ice build-up on their rotor blades, and others designed to remain stable in hurricane-force winds.

The University of Oklahoma is home to CIWRO and the National Severe Storms Laboratory.

Main photo: The CopterSonde has been developed in the National Weather Center (background), a hub of meteorological research headquartered at the University of Oklahoma. (Credit, Jonathan Kyncl).