Tornado Facts - About The Fujita Scale

Here are some interesting tornado facts aboutby the Texas Tech. University Wind Science and
the way tornadoes are measured and rated. TheEngineering Research Center in conjunction with
standard scale that is used to measure the sizeother wind engineers and meteorologists. By
of a tornado is called the Fujita Scale or F Scaleincorporating improved knowledge of wind speeds
as it is more commonly referred to. The F Scaleand the resulting damage they were able to
was devised in 1951 by the Japanese Americandetermine a more accurate assessment of a
meteorologist Tetsuya Fujita.tornado based on its destruction path. The scale
This scale classifies tornadoes on a hierarchyretained the original categories of the Fujita Scale
based on the amount of damaged that theybut the associated wind speeds were revised.
caused. By measuring the amount of damage, aBelow is the enhanced F Scale or EF Scale rating
wind speed can be determined and used to ratemeasurements that were adopted by the National
the tornado on the Fujita Scale. Certain types ofWeather Service in 2007.
damage happen at different wind speeds. After aEF0- Estimated winds of 65-85 mph.
tornado has passed through an area experts willEF1- Estimated winds of 86-110 mph.
assess the type of damage that was done toEF2- Estimated winds of 111-135 mph.
structures and trees. By studying the types ofEF3- Estimated winds of 136-165 mph.
damage they can determine the category or sizeEF4- Estimated winds of 166-200 mph.
of the tornado.EF5- Estimated winds over 200 mph.
In 2007 the Enhanced Fujita scale was developed