When you hear about an F-2 tornado in Stokesdale, NC or see an F5 tornado video on the Internet the “F” refers to the Fujita scale (F-Scale). The Fujita scale was introduced in 1971 as a way to rate the intensity of a tornado based on the amount of damage done to man-made structures and vegetation. It was developed by Tetsuya Fujita and Allen in Kansas City, Missouri.
Because many of the factors used by the Fujita scale were subjective and ambiguous a new scale was introduced. This new scale is called the Enhanced Fujita Scale or EF Scale and went into effect on February 1, 2007. The Enhanced Fujita Scale better reflects tornado damage in relation to wind speeds. The EF Scale also introduced 28 damage indicators to reflect the types of structures or vegetation that were damaged.
EF-0 category tornadoes have wind speeds of 65-85 mph and are known to have caused light damage often from fallen trees and branches. It should be noted that a tornado that did not cause any confirmed damaged is always rated an EF-0.
EF-1 category tornadoes have wind speeds of 86-110 mph and are known to have caused moderate damage. This could include mobile homes being overturned and damage to rooftops.
EF-2 category tornadoes have wind speeds of 111-135 mph and are known to have caused considerable damage. An EF-2 tornado is powerful enough to lift a car off the ground and destroy some small structures.
EF-3 category tornadoes have wind speeds of 136–165 mph and are known to have caused severe damage. At this intensity level well constructed homes will be destroyed and larger buildings will suffer considerable damage.
EF-4 category tornadoes have wind speeds of 166–200 mph and are known to have caused devastating damage. At this level even well constructed homes can be completely leveled. Cars can also be picked up off of the ground and thrown great distances.
EF-5 category tornadoes have wind speeds of over 200 mph and are known to have caused incredible damage. At this level entire neighborhoods might be swept away.
Since the Enhanced Fujita scale went into effect in 2007 there has only been one recorded EF-5 tornado. That tornado occurred in Greensburg, Kansas on May 4, 2007. Video footage from this tornado reveals widespread devastation rarely seen before.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Tracy, Minnesota News Footage
By: twister | 15-08-2008
Hi,
I'm looking for a news story that WCCO-Tv put out on June 14, 1968 about the tornado that hit Tracy, Minnesota the day before. I've contacted WCCO, and they said they only have archives that go back to a few years ago. I know there are a few archive web sites, but you need to have an affiliation with a Television orginization.
I'm more than willing to pay for the news footage, I just need to find it. Can you please help? Thanks. Mike
Chicago Storm tornado evacuation
By: zoneiac | 05-08-2008
Were you caught in the storm? Are you prepared?
Does anyone know what's the forecast?
It's been going on for ever...
What is a woodette tornado
By: ron | 16-07-2008
what is a woodette tornado
Tornado in Suffolk destroyed houses
By: 2bDaBoss | 29-04-2008
My aunt lives in Suffolk and her home was totally destroyed by the storm. This is the second time it has happened to them. Will the insurance company give them trouble? Who can they address for help?
March Weather in San Francisco
By: Riker1969 | 05-03-2008
Whats the Weather like in San Francisco in March?
Spring time fights
By: HarrisF | 29-02-2008
why is it around spring time each year people start to fight more? is this weather related? does the warm weather bring out something in people that they are more inclined to get into physical altercations?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Science Articles
Photosynthesis
By: K.K.SUBRAMANIAN | 11/10/2008
The view that leaves are making starch which is transported to the cells of the plant is refuted. it is suggested that each cell is capable of photosynthesis.
Buffon, Linnaeus and the Definition of Species
By: Helen Klus | 10/10/2008
Over 100 years before Darwin published 'The Origin of the Species' there was huge controversy over how species should be defined. In 1749, Comte de Buffon, published the Histoire naturelle. where he criticised the most popular system of taxonomy of the time, particularly systems similar to those of Linnaeus, who had presented a global classification of nature in Systema naturae in 1735.
Alan Turning and the Right to be Gay
By: Helen Klus | 10/10/2008
Alan Turing is considered to be the father of computer science. In 1936 he helped answer one of the unsolved mathematical problems of the time, Gödel's incompleteness theorem, by showing that it is theoretically possible to design a machine which, given any equation, could decide whether or not it could be proven. During the World War II Turning worked in the British Communication headquarters at Bletchley Park where he was instrumental in solving the problem of the Enigma machine.
A History of Astronomy: Copernicus to the Present Day
By: Helen Klus | 10/10/2008
Nicolaus Copernicus first popularised the idea of a moving Earth around a stationary Sun in 'On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres' published in 1543. Perhaps for political reasons this was proposed merely as am instrumental theory, it provided an easier mathematical system for calculating where planets would be but could not be accepted as a realist interpretation.
A Brief History of the Brain
By: Helen Klus | 10/10/2008
The human brain evolved from the mammalian brain, which had evolved in turn from the reptilian brain, and as each evolved pieces of the old brain remained, layers were simply added onto what was there before.
A Brief History of Quantum Mechanics
By: Helen Klus | 10/10/2008
The nature of light has been contested throughout much of the history of modern science. Robert Hooke and Christiaan Huygens begun working on a wave theory of light in the 1670s, this was reliant on the idea that light waves must propagate through a medium and so the void between the Sun and the Earth must be filled with an æther.
Stress Tolerance in Plants
By: Prasanna Bhagwan , Luka Nijhawan, Anower Kabir | 09/10/2008
Conventional and GM breeding are complementary approaches and can be expected to enhance the draught resistance and yield of crops. People have entered in new era in which enhance knowledge of both the physiology of yield accumulation and the physiological basis of genetic variation in both salt and draught resistance traits offer the potential for improving breeding efficiency for major food crops in different target environments. Using physiological knowledge and powerful tools
Dimensions of Time
By: Dennis Huff | 08/10/2008
Provides an alternate view of time by explaining what time truely is v.s how science currently views time. I also make the argument that just as we have spacial dimensions, so too are there time dimensions. I also stress the point that time is not an actual thing. It is simply a tool that we use to measure events as they happen.
Education 
About the Author:
