Windstorms cause the most damage annually of any natural hazard in the United States. In most years, an overwhelming percentage of this damage is caused by severe convective storms (i.e., thunderstorms and tornadoes). Despite these losses, very little is known about the characteristics of these events, their relation to wind loading, and how they differ from current prescriptions available in wind load codes and standards. This talk will focus on the ongoing and future work that is occurring at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in an attempt to increase understanding of these phenomena and their impacts. Specifically, discussion will include: 1) characterization of tornado and thunderstorm winds relevant to engineering; 2) interpretation of the loading from these events and how they differ from wind load codes and standards 3) analysis of damage from recent tornado and thunderstorm events and 4) the development of a full-scale laboratory at UIUC to capture these events and address potential mitigation strategies.

Franklin Lombardo is an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Illinois.