A University of Kentucky professor says unmanned aircraft are likely to play a bigger role in predicting tornadic activity in the years to come. Members of the Lexington Rotary Club heard a presentation Thursday from an expert with more than three decades experience in aeronautics and space. 
Professor of Mechanical Engineering Suzanne Weaver Smith says drones are already being used to take weather measurements. Going forward, she says they are likely to help determine which storm cells will produce tornadoes. “Whether you would fly something to help you determine that those characteristics are there or not, to give you a longer warning time, I think is the vision that some people have,” noted Weaver Smith.
Weaver-Smith says, for a number of years, the advance warning time for tornadoes has remained at 13 minutes. She’s hoping the use of unmanned aircraft will lengthen that time.
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