The Tornado Scientist (Scientists in the Field)

by Mary Kay Carson (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
In this addition to the critically-acclaimed Scientist in the Field series, scientist Robin Tanamachi and her team are trying to save countless lives across America's heartland, chasing one tornado at a time. Robin Tanamachi has been captivated by tornadoes and extreme weather her entire life. When she realized people researched weather for a job, she was hooked. She now studies tornadogenesis, or how tornadoes form, and what causes them to get weaker versus strengthen. For her, driving around in a Doppler radar truck aiming towards storms is a normal day in the office. The data she collects is then modeled and studied on computers--with math, physics, and computer science working hand in hand with meteorology. At the end of the day, knowing exactly how, when, and where these violent storms happen can give more warning time for everyone involved.
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Research meteorologist and radar expert Robin Tanamachi, who once studied tornadoes by chasing them across Midwestern plains, now lies in wait for them in the hills and forests of America’s southeast.

Writer Carson (Inside Tornados, 2010) and photographer Uhlman document the veteran storm chaser’s work and her change of focus from storms in Tornado Alley (from the Dakotas down to Texas) to an area called Dixie Alley that stretches from Louisiana to Georgia and up to Tennessee and Alabama. Chapter by chapter, they introduce the scientist and the science, including the genesis of severe storms and tornado anatomy; explain the use of weather radar and other tools; recall the effects of a record-breaking number of highly destructive tornadoes in Tennessee and Alabama in 2011; show cooperating scientists gathered in Alabama to “set a tornado net”; and describe efforts to predict tornadoes further in advance and to ensure that people react appropriately to storm warnings. There is particular attention to Tanamachi’s work with radar and husband Dan Dawson’s measurement of the sizes and shapes of raindrops. Plenty of well-captioned photos (including pictures of disasters and of the scientist as a tornado-obsessed child) break up the exposition and will add to the appeal. Carson’s description of the fourth-generation Japanese-American scientist’s work is detailed and immediate; readers might well be able to imagine themselves in her shoes. (Dawson presents white.)

For middle schoolers, challenging science about a perennially appealing but surprisingly complex subject. (glossary, research suggestions, acknowledgements, sources and bibliography, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

ALA/Booklist

Whenever there is a threat of tornadoes, many people glue themselves to the Weather Channel watching storm chasers. Such was Robin Tanamachi’s experience at age seven, which prompted her, right then, to become a meteorologist and tornado scientist, and she never wavered from that career path. This book follows Tanamachi as she describes her work and the science behind it; her work with the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s VORTEX, VORTEX2, and VORTEX-SE projects has been crucial to unraveling how storms develop. In their photobiography of Tanamachi, Carson and Uhlman present much more than her life: they explore and discuss tornado research and processes scientists use to understand the storms in their attempt to make weather situations safer for citizens. Uhlman’s rich color photographs (along with some from Tanamachi’s own collection) and Carson’s eloquent text take readers into the chase truck with Tanamachi; her husband, Dan Dawson; and their colleagues. Diagrams, text boxes, explanations, detailed notes, and recommended resources make this addition to the Scientists in the Field series a rich addition to weather collections.

— J. B. Petty

Review quotes

"[A] rich addition to weather collections."—Booklist
Mary Kay Carson
Mary Kay Carson is the author of more than fifty books for young people about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and history. After studying biology in college, and a stint in the Peace Corps, she began her writing career working on the classroom magazine SuperScience. Her books have received more than a dozen starred reviews, as well as multiple awards. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband in a century-old house surrounded by urban greenspace, deer, hawks, woodchucks, and songbirds. www.marykaycarson.com

Shen Fei is an illustrator based in Malaysia. He grew up drawing manga and superheroes, which has led him to working in games and animation for the past decade. He is currently a freelance artist working on film, games, and books.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780544965829
Lexile Measure
850
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
March 19, 2019
Series
Scientists in the Field
BISAC categories
JNF051160 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Disasters
JNF051170 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Discoveries
JNF037080 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Earth Sciences - Weather
Library of Congress categories
Meteorologists
Women scientists
Tornadoes
Storm chasers
Tanamachi, Robin

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