This research will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the devastating Moore, Oklahoma tornado that occurred on 20 May, 2013. The focus of this study will be the integration of a comprehensive damage survey with high-resolution radar data from the nearby Twin Lakes, OK WSR-88D operational Doppler radar, as well as visual data of the tornado and attendant debris.
Intellectual Merit: There are very few analyses of large, devastating tornadoes published in the referred literature. This study would be unique since, for the first time, the relationship between radar-detected features associated with the tornado and attendant debris, visual characteristics of the tornado and debris, and damage intensity and location will be examined. Such an integrated analysis has yet to be published in the refereed literature for a large, violent tornado.
Broader Impacts: One of the more important broader impacts is to produce a detailed damage map of the deadly Moore tornado. The Moore tornado will be considered one of the most significant weather events to impact the Southern Plains. The integrated analysis will enhance our understanding of radar features commonly associated with tornadoes and attendant debris. This project will also employ an undergraduate student who will gain invaluable experience with the research process, data analysis and interpretation.
With this award, we have performed a detailed aerial damage survey of the devastating 2013 Moore Oklahoma tornado. We executed the aerial survey by flying a Cessna aircraft over the damage path at different altitudes. Over 1200 high-resolution digital photographs were taken documenting the damage along the path. The damage was then mapped and rated for severity in a GIS framework. The result of our damage survey is shown in the attached figure. This tornado was historic because of its economic and societal impacts on the greater Moore area. The tornado was rated EF5 based on damage to residential buildings. The damage path covered 18.1 km2. Of the 4531 damaged structures, 78% are residential buildings assessed at approximately $400 million. Tragically, two elementary schools within the city of Moore, Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers, were completely destroyed by the tornado. Seven of the fatalities were children in the Plaza Towers Elementary School. The Moore Medical Center was also destroyed by the tornado. We were able to quantify the risk within the damage path. For example, while the tornado is rated EF5, how much of the damage path experienced this damage severity? We found that only a small fraction of the damage path (0.03%) experience EF5 damage. In fact, only 16.6% of the damage path experience "violent" damaging winds (EF3 and higher). Using still photographs and video taken by news crews and storm chasers, we were able to compare the relative sizes of the condensation funnel and the damage path width. We found that the condensation funnel width was often much smaller than the damage path. This result suggests that significant, damaging winds are produced well outside the condensation funnel. The damage path width is much smaller that the tornado signature observed with a Doppler radar.
