Tornadoes, Microbursts, and Silver Linings

Theodore "Ted" Fujita was renowned for his meticulous work in observing and analyzing meteorological phenomena, including tornadoes and microbursts, through photographs and damage surveys as well as weather data. (Photo courtesy University of Chicago.)

Theodore "Ted" Fujita was renowned for his meticulous work in observing and analyzing meteorological phenomena, including tornadoes and microbursts, through photographs and damage surveys as well as weather data. (Photo courtesy University of Chicago.)

April 1, 2014  It takes a sharp eye to find something positive in the wreckage of the worst swarm of U.S. tornadoes on record. Ted Fujita had just such an eye, and millions of Americans are safer in the air because of it.

Fujita, who died in 1998, is known around the world for devising the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale, or F-scale. Now reworked as the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Scale, it’s the system most commonly used to rank tornado strength based on observed damage. A prolific researcher, Fujita made many other contributions to meteorology that are less well known to the public. One standout is his conceptualization of microbursts, the small yet dangerous pockets of descending wind that even weak showers can produce.

Fujita and colleagues at the University of Chicago joined with NCAR researchers in the late 1970s and 1980s in definitive work that clarified the danger posed to aviation by microbursts. The effort was a spectacular success—and it all started in the wake of a devastating round of tornadoes that struck 40 years ago this week.

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