What is the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale?
Dr. T. Theodore Fujita was a pioneer in the study of tornadoes and severe thunderstorm phenomena. In 1971, he proposed the adoption of the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale to provide estimates of tornado strength based on damage surveys. Since it is extremely difficult to make direct measurements of tornado winds, an estimate of the winds based on damage is the best way to classify them. Fujita proposed a range of intensities zero to five, with weak tornados being classified as “F0” and the strongest tornados as “F5”. Note that it is impossible to have an F6 tornado, since the Fujita Scale is a damage scale, and there is no classification for damage beyond F5 damage (incredible destruction). However, it is theoretically possible to have a tornado with winds in excess of the F5 classification (318 mph). On May 3, 1999, an Oklahoma University Doppler radar remotely sensed tornado wind speeds above ground of 318 mph at Bridge Creek, Oklahoma — the highest winds ever found near Earth’s surface
Dr. T. Theodore Fujita was a pioneer in the study of tornadoes and severe thunderstorm phenomena. In 1971, he proposed the adoption of the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale to provide estimates of tornado strength based on damage surveys. Since it is extremely difficult to make direct measurements of tornado winds, an estimate of the winds based on damage is the best way to classify them. Fujita proposed a range of intensities zero to five, with weak tornadoes being classified as “F0” and the strongest tornadoes as “F5”.
Dr. T. Theodore Fujita, a pioneer in the study of tornadoes and severe thunderstorm phenomena, developed the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale (F-Scale) to provide estimates of tornado strength based on damage surveys. Since it is extremely difficult to make direct measurements of tornado winds, an estimate of the winds based on damage is the best way to classify them. The new Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) addresses some of the limitations identified by meteorologists and engineers since the introduction of the Fujita Scale in 1971. Variability in the quality of construction and different local building codes made classifying tornadoes in a uniform manner difficult. In many cases, these inconsistencies led to overestimates in the strength of tornadoes. The new scale identifies 28 different free standing structures most affected by tornadoes taking into account construction quality and maintenance. The range of tornado intensities remains as before, zero to five, with ‘EF0’ being the weake
