Tag: Tornadoes

Satellite Mapping of Forest Disturbances Can Help When Field Efforts Are Restricted

by Lars Pomara, Eastern Threat Center  • 
A large number of tornadoes struck the Southeast in the spring of 2020. Ordinarily, aerial surveillance and field crews would assess forest damage after windstorms and other disturbances, but the COVID-19 pandemic has limited those operations. USDA Forest Service scientists are showing that, with recent technological advances, disturbance impacts can nonetheless be rapidly mapped at…  More 

Crash and Burn: How Tornado Damage Affects Fire Behavior

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery Group  • 
Tornadoes and fires are powerful natural disturbances that can kill trees and cause long lasting changes in community composition. “However, most disturbances are neither rare nor catastrophic,” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Joseph O’Brien. “There is a continuum of disturbance severity in most ecosystems, although the interactions among these disturbances haven’t received much study.” One…  More