Some of the material in is restricted to members of the community. By logging in, you may be able to gain additional access to certain collections or items. If you have questions about access or logging in, please use the form on the Contact Page.
Perhaps nothing on Earth is so uniquely majestic, yet destructive as the tornado. A violent tornado can level a town in minutes, causing death, injuries, monumental property losses and lasting emotional damage. To better understand the power behind tornadoes this research estimates the per-tornado total kinetic energy (TKE) for all tornadoes in the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) database over the period 2007-2013. TKE is estimated using the fraction of the tornado path experiencing Enhanced Fujita (EF) damage and the midpoint wind speed for each EF damage rating. TKE is validated as a metric of destruction by comparing it to other indexes of destruction including the Destruction Potential Index (DPI) and Tornado Destruction Index (TDI). Results showed that the Tallulah-Yazoo City-Durant tornado was the tornado with the most energy over the period, that 2011 was the year with the most energy, and that April and May were the months of the year with the most energy. The difference between frequency and energy was investigated and showed that while parts of "Tornado Alley" experienced the most tornadoes, it was the Deep South that experienced the most powerful tornadoes. Future work on TKE should look to compare environmental parameters (convective air potential energy (CAPE), helicity, and vertical wind shear) and TKE values. It should also look to disaggregate the scale at which TKE is possible and focus on the social implications of powerful tornadoes. TKE as a metric of destruction has value in its potential ability to spark new considerations about insurance rates, building codes, and public policy concerning tornadoes.
A Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references.
Advisory Committee
James B. Elsner, Professor Directing Thesis; Victor Mesev, Committee Member; Stephanie Pau, Committee Member.
Publisher
Florida State University
Identifier
FSU_migr_etd-9334
Use and Reproduction
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them.
