The University of Nebraska Lincoln will lead the most ambitious drone-based investigation of severe storms and tornadoes ever conducted.

Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Adam Houston says the long-range objective is to improve tornado forecasting.

Houston says that the drone-based study is the largest-ever study of its kind, based upon the geographical area covered and the number of drones and other assets deployed.

Houston says that the false alarm rate is high; 75 percent of the time there isn’t a tornado. He adds if the false alarm rate is reduced, the rate of detection will be reduced.