<p> Natural disasters can be very devastating to the public during their impact phase. After a natural disaster impacts a region, the response and recovery phases begin immediately. Weather conditions may interrupt emergency response and recovery in the days following the disaster. This study analyzes the climatology of weather conditions during the response and recovery phases of hurricanes and tornadoes to understand how weather may impact both environment and societal needs. Using specific criteria, 66 tornadoes and 16 hurricane cases were defined. National Weather Service (NWS) recognized weather stations were used to provide temperature, precipitation, snowfall, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction data. Regional and temporal groups were defined for tornado cases, but only one group was defined for hurricanes. By applying statistical analysis to weather observations taken in the week following the disasters, a climatology was developed for the response and recovery phase. Tornado and hurricane post-disaster climate closely mimicked their synoptic climatology with cooler and drier weather prevailing in days 2-4 after a disaster until the next weather system arrived about 5 days later. Winter tornadoes trended to occur in the Southeast and were associated with more extreme temperature differences than in other regions and season. The results of this study may help governmental and non-governmental organizations prepare for weather conditions during the post-disaster phase.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1555294 |
| Date | 13 June 2014 |
| Creators | Edwards, Jennifer L. |
| Publisher | Kent State University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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