Assessment of thunderstorm-prone areas in Romania based on wind damage occurrence and surface observation data

This paper focuses on the identification of thunderstorm-prone regions in Romania based on wind induced-damage and associated velocities to serve as a basis for future generations of wind loading codes. The damage data is extracted from a catalogue elaborated based on wind-induced damage that has occurred in Romania between 2013 and 2022. Wind data measurements from meteorological stations located within 100 km from the locations of damage are provided by the National Meteorological Administration of Romania (Meteo Romania). The wind data was manually extracted from the National Meteorological Database and comprises daily records of the 10-min mean wind speed, the 3-s gust speed and the mode (trend) of wind direction. A simple, straightforward algorithm based on the statistical analysis of the 3-s gust speed is proposed to separate the wind records into two classes: thunderstorm (T) records and non-thunderstorm (NT) records. The maximum 3-s gust speeds and corresponding locations of met stations for both T-records as well as NT-records are further used to compile maps and compare them to the wind zonation map provided by the Romanian wind code (CR1-1-4, 2012). Finally, the paper presents an in-depth analysis of thunderstorm induced damage to the built and the natural environments.