Sound waves from severe thunderstorms can be used to listen for the formation of tornadoes, according to research by Oklahoma State University (OSU) scientists.

The team, which presented the findings this week at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, is using infrasound, sound waves at frequencies too low for humans to hear, in their tornado-detection research.

Infrasound is emitted by potentially tornadic storms "up to two hours before tornadogenesis," according to the team led by Dr. Brian Elbing, an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at OSU. Tornadogenesis is the process by which a tornado develops.

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The OSU team is using an array of microphones placed in a triangle 200 feet apart to detect infrasound.

Much of the research was focused on a tornado that developed in Oklahoma on May 11, 2017, about 12 miles from the OSU equipment.

Infrasound activity at the observing equipment increased about 10 minutes before the tornado developed, according to a presentation provided by Elbing in an email to weather.com. The tornado was estimated to be about 50 yards wide based on the infrasound that was emitted, and that matched up with the estimated width from a post-storm National Weather Service (NWS) report on the brief twister.

The graph from Elbing to the right shows in blue the infrasound emissions over time that were detected by the array for the May 11, 2017, severe weather event.

Where the graph is labeled "2" is when the tornado occurred and coincides with an increase in infrasound activity. That was followed by a lull and then another spike in infrasound activity where the graph is labeled "4". That second spike represents a possible tornado that was not confirmed by the NWS.

Right now, Doppler radar and storm spotters lead the way when it comes to real-time tornado tracking. This infrasound detection could be another tool of use in the future.

"We are currently answering fundamental questions about how the infrasound is produced, but once that is understood we could use the sound to improve warning systems," Elbing said.

Additional infrasound tornado research was performed in northern Alabama last spring during the VORTEX-SE project by scientists from the The University of Alabama-Huntsville and The University of Mississippi.

Arrays deployed during a severe weather event on April 22, 2017, detected in infrasound emissions before tornadogenesis occurred, according to the researchers in a presentation at the Amercian Meteorological Society annual meeting in January.

The team said that once tornado activity began the intensity of infrasound emissions ramped up. That was followed by a decrease in infrasound emissions when the tornado lifted.

(MORE: Tornado Central)

It's worth noting that research on infrasound emissions from tornadoes isn't new. The topic has been investigated by scientists for decades.