EF-Scale Forum (Invited Presentation)

In July 2014, the American Society for Civil Engineering accepted a proposal to develop a American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-compliant standard on the estimation of near surface wind speeds from tornadoes and other severe wind events. The content of the standard would include the current EF-scale and its methodology, future improvements to the EF-scale, and all alternative methodologies to derive wind speed estimates that survive the standards process. Any new content above the current state of the EF-scale will have to survive a thorough process of committee balloting, and public commenting before it becomes part of a standard. Adjustments to the current EF-scale and its method, and new methods, such as tree fall pattern analysis, nearby radar, forensic analysis, and aerial imagery, would have to be presented in such a way as to survive this process. In this forum, several panelists will introduce the standards process and discuss current issues with the EF-scale, including what improvements of its method, or any new methods, would serve as candidates for the standard. A discussion period will follow the presentations.