Harnessing UAS and High-Resolution Satellite Imagery to Better Characterize Wind Damage and Understand Tornado Behavior

Abstract The severe storms research community continues to strive toward measuring and quantifying wind speeds near the ground in tornadoes as a component of meeting society’s needs of protecting life and property. Current methods to measure and characterize tornadoes and their wind speeds all have limitations, particularly when only vegetation and rural areas are impacted. To address these problems, the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) and the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) employed uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) technologies and specialized satellites to assess storm damage through finescale mapping of wind damage immediately following storm events. From 2021 to 2023, NSSL-CIWRO led 48 UAS-based damage assessments spanning the northern High Plains to the Gulf Coast areas. The goals of this work were to improve our knowledge of tornado dynamics as a function of land cover and topography and to better understand mechanisms of wind damage production in convective storms. In parallel, NSSL-CIWRO developed workflows to facilitate the rapid sharing of UAS and satellite imagery to National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices (NWS WFOs) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Operationally, NSSL UAS imagery and derived products have aided traditional ground- and satellite-based surveys and have provided important clues on tornado intensity by detailing damage to vegetation in inaccessible areas. UAS and high-resolution satellite imagery may become a routine and key component to understand tornado and severe weather behavior through the analysis of specialized field observations. Significance Statement This article highlights how uncrewed aerial system (UAS) technologies and specialized satellites were used at National Severe Storms Laboratory–Cooperative Institute for Severe and High Impact Weather Research and Operations (NSSL-CIWRO) to better assess storm damage and provide new insights into tornado behavior through finescale mapping of wind damage. Combining UAS and high-resolution satellite information with observational datasets and numerical simulations can improve our knowledge of tornado intensity and dynamics as well as our understanding of wind damage production in severe convective storms. Additionally, information gained from high-resolution imagery and derived products have shown operational benefits for multiagency damage assessments [i.e., National Weather Service (NWS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)].