Use of a Small Unmanned Aerial System in VORTEX-SE 2016

NOAA/ARL/ATDD’s DJI S-1000 small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) was used in the Verifications of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment Southeast (VORTEX-SE) in the spring of 2016 to make several types of airborne measurements.  The S-1000 was used to measure temperature and humidity profiles in the lower 125-213 m of the atmosphere and to map the Earth’s skin temperature during three intensive observation periods (13 March, 24 March, and 27 April).  Additionally, the S-1000 was used to perform a damage survey from an EF-2 tornado that occurred within the VORTEX-SE domain on 31 March 2016.