The planet has seen an increase in extreme climatic events (ECEs), which includes strong wind events as well as precipitation, flooding, and temperature extremes. With regard to strong wind events, there is growing evidence of the changing dynamics of tornados in the US, and models project an increase in number and strength of future tornados. Along with this, there is growing recognition of the importance of tornados, windstorms, and other ECEs as drivers of contemporary and future ecological dynamics. Strong wind events such as tornados and windstorms are known to play a major role in the structure and function of forest ecosystems, but surprisingly have received little attention. A question central to tornado blowdowns is how ecological communities respond to blowdown areas which are now structurally and functionally altered from their pre-tornadic condition. We require a better understand of the patterns of tornado damage across a landscape, exactly which ecological factors drive the recovery of post-tornado communities and ecosystems, and the relative importance of each of those factors. This session brings together researchers working to characterize both spatial and temporal ecological impacts caused by extreme wind events. Studies using a variety of taxa focus on the impacts of extreme wind events on forest ecosystem processes and recovery patterns. The goal of this organized oral session is to integrate both short- and long-term tornado blowdown research being conducted, and to assess and synthesize what we can learn from this endeavor.