May 2024 was a very active month for severe weather across the United States, with several hundred tornadoes occurring throughout the United States. The MSFC Disasters team has been working with several National Weather Service (NWS) Offices across the Southeast this spring to help support their damage surveys with high-resolution commercial imagery and derived products. The imagery and products are created using data provided by NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. The MSFC Disasters Team’s support and expertise are providing another tool for forecasters to use when trying to understand the impacts of severe weather on their forecast area. The MSFC Disasters Team has supported the following NWS offices this spring: New Orleans/Slidell, LA, Little Rock, AR, Mobile, AL, and Huntsville, AL. Forecasters have reported back numerous examples of the imagery and products helping to confirm additional tornado tracks, and helping to modifying tracks, especially in hard-to-reach areas, such as dense forests or bayous.
