  Building upon the intrinsic properties of Navier-Stokes dynamics, namely the
prevalence of intense vortical structures and the interrelationship between
vorticity and strain rate, we propose a simple framework to quantify the
extreme events and the smallest scales of turbulence. We demonstrate that our
approach is in excellent agreement with the best available data from direct
numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence, with Taylor-scale Reynolds
number up to 1300. We additionally highlight a shortcoming of prevailing
intermittency models due to their disconnection from observed correlation
between vorticity and strain. Our work accentuates the importance of this
correlation as a crucial step in developing an accurate understanding of
intermittency in turbulence.
