The near-ground dynamics of tornadoes are still poorly understood, despite the significant societal risk posed by tornadoes. Additionally, recent research (Lyza 2025; Lyza and Flournoy 2026) has found that factors intrinsic to the enhanced Fujita (EF) scale and evolution in how it is being applied in practice have led to a major downward shift in the assignment of intense (EF3 or greater) ratings in the U.S. Recent work has focused on refining the EF scale and developing other methods for estimating tornado intensity and characterizing tornado dynamics, including collection of radar and in-situ observations, treefall pattern analysis, forensic engineering calculations, and analysis of satellite and uncrewed aerial system (UAS) remote sensing datasets. Additional research has focused on using large eddy simulations to elucidate aspects of tornado dynamics that are difficult to observe. Despite these recent advancements, much remains poorly understood, including how changes to tornado rating practices might impact our understanding of the relationships between tornado intensity and associated operational radar signatures or the near-storm environment. Outstanding questions also remain regarding how the ongoing revision of the EF scale may impact future tornado recordkeeping, and how newer methods for tornado-intensity estimation could be integrated with the EF scale and with each other to form a more holistic understanding of tornado intensity and dynamics (e.g., Lyza et al. 2026). This project will focus on a broad range of topics related to these outstanding questions, including:

1) The effects of changes to tornado rating practices on the characteristic environments and radar signatures associated with intense tornadoes;

2) The impact of translation speed on tornado dynamics, particularly the near-surface wind speed profile;

3) How evolving tornado intensity estimation methods may impact future tornado recordkeeping in the United States;

4) Further refinement of tornado-intensity estimation methods, including development of probabilistic tornado-intensity estimates and refined intensity estimation procedures; and

5) The dynamics and structure of tornadoes produced by quasi-linear convective systems (QLCSs).

References:

Lyza, A. W., 2025: On the consistency between the Fujita and enhanced Fujita scales and implications for the United States tornado climatology. Mon. Wea. Rev., 153 (10), 2107–2119, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-24-0265.1.

Lyza, A. W., and M. D. Flournoy, 2026: How have the intrinsic characteristics and application of the enhanced Fujita scale contributed to a decreased frequency of intense tornadoes in the United States? J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 65 (9), 1507–1529, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-25-0244.1.

Lyza, A. W., F. T. Lombardo, A. A. Alford, M. D. Flournoy, and E. A. Tirone, 2026: The relationship between instantaneous and 3-second wind gust periods as a function of a modified Rankine vortex. Mon. Wea. Rev., 154 (9), 1893–1907, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-25-0211.1.

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Additional Benefits

Awardees who reside more than 50 miles from their host laboratory and remain on tenure for at least six months are eligible for paid relocation to within the vicinity of their host laboratory.

A group health insurance program is available to awardees and their qualifying dependents in the United States.