Leveraging the SPoRT Paradigm and Best Practices for Elevating Severe Weather Responses by the NASA Applied Science Disasters Program

The NASA Applied Sciences Disasters Program leverages Earth Observations, subject matter experts, and applied research to improve preparation for, response to, and recovery from hazards and disasters around the world. The program has a robust response component that works with local, state, federal, and international partners, and stakeholders to support their missions. Throughout the disasters cycle Our team at the Marshall Space Flight Center coordinates with decision-makers and local governments throughout the disasters cycle, providing actionable data to recover from disaster impacts and assist in building resilient communities.

This presentation will focus on describing the use of Earth Observations to support end-users and stakeholders in response activities by the NASA Applied Sciences Disasters Program, specifically by the coordinators at Marshall Space Flight Center. Specific details will highlight how the SPoRT Paradigm has been utilized by the Disasters Program to work with these partners to better understand their missions and deliverables while also working to develop new solutions to meet these needs. Specific examples in this presentation will focus on work done by the Disasters Program in conjunction with the National Weather Service stakeholders to leverage Earth Observations to improve the assessment of the land surface after suspected tornadoes and severe weather. These collaborations first began after the April 27^th, 2011, tornado outbreak with the use of MODIS, Landsat-7 ETM+, and ASTER imagery to help with tornado track identification and have continued to date with the use of high-resolution commercial datasets and synthetic aperture radar to identify and map all severe weather impacts, tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail.