Understanding how intense tornado windspeeds are and how tornado winds impact structures is key to improving our understanding of tornado risk and building more tornado-resilient communities. The VORTEX-USA program has supported several efforts to improve understanding of tornado intensity and the tornado wind field. These studies have included high-resolution simulations to improve understanding of how land cover, surface roughness, terrain, and structures impact the near-ground tornado wind field, as well as observational studies on how data collection from UASs and high-resolution satellite imagery can improve tornado damage assessments in rural areas. VORTEX-USA projects studying tornado damage have featured direct engagement with NWS meteorologists, giving them hands-on experience in using UASs for damage assessment and providing them useful data for post-event verification.
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