Jeffery B. Cannon 

More recent findings on this topic will be presented at upcoming presentations.

 

The tornados we have studied damage more area than typically apreciated and the pattern of tornado damage sems to be impacted strongly by topography

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In this study, I am developing a remote sensing method to create a map of damage severity from aerial photographs. The 2011 tornado "super-outbreak" spawned over 300 tornados that struck the southeast over a four day period. The Peterson lab commissioned aerial photographs of two of these tornado tracks–one that struck the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, and one that struck the Chatahoochee National Forest in Georgia.

 

Because the extent and pattern of damage can influence ecological processes such as forest carbon cycling and forest regeneration, I am using the remotely sensed damage severity data to measure the pattern and extent of tornado damage. Meterological understanding of tornado behavior in mountainous regions is encumbered by the difficulty using Doppler radar in rugged terrain. Thus I am also investigated how topography affects damage severity in mountains terrain.

 

Preliminary Findings: The EF-3 tornado that struck the Chatahoochee National Forest (CNF) received  >1200 ha of damage—much greater than a high-end estimate for a tornado of its magnitude (~750 ha). Damaged patches were arranged in a "dissolved bull's-eye" pattern with large high severity patches nested within smaller lower severity patches becoming discontinuous in the periphery. The CNF tonardo seemed to respond strongly to topography with upper slopes and ridges as well as NE-facing aspects being less vulnerable to damage.