How are tornadoes classified?
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How are tornadoes classified?
Tornadoes are categorized by their wind speed and the amount of damage they cause using a scale called the “Enhanced Fujita” scale. It is usually abbreviated as the “EF” scale.
How fast do winds have to be for a tornado?
The Fujita Scale
| The Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity | ||
|---|---|---|
| F-Scale Number | Intensity Phrase | Wind Speed |
| F0 | Gale tornado | 40-72 mph |
| F1 | Moderate tornado | 73-112 mph |
| F2 | Significant tornado | 113-157 mph |
What do winds need to be doing to create the conditions for a tornado to occur?
These violent tornadoes are rare in occurrence. The key atmospheric ingredients that lead to tornado potential are instability – warm moist air near the ground, with cooler dry air aloft and wind shear – a change in wind speed and/or direction with height. When conditions are favorable, tornadoes will be produced.
Can tornadoes have winds stronger than 200 miles per hour?
It is generally believed that tornadic wind speeds can be as high as 300 mph in the most violent tornadoes.
What is a Category 1 tornado?
F1 Category Tornado Moderate Tornado. Moderate damage: Peels surfaces off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; outbuildings demolished; moving autos pushed off the roads; trees snapped or broken.
What is a category 5 tornado?
This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F5, EF5, or an equivalent rating, the highest possible ratings on the various tornado intensity scales. F5 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 261 mph (420 km/h) and 318 mph (512 km/h).
What makes a tornado an F5?
F5 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 261 mph (420 km/h) and 318 mph (512 km/h). With building design and structural integrity taken more into account, winds in an EF5 tornado were estimated to be in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h). The Enhanced Fujita scale is used predominantly in North America.
How bad is an EF0 tornado?
An EF0 tornado is the weakest tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. An EF0 will have wind speeds between 65 and 85 mph (105 and 137 km/h). An EF0 tornado, the weakest tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, will cause minor damage. EF0 wind speeds can peel the material off from some roofs.
What is a 3 tornado?
An EF-3 indicates estimated wind speeds between 136 and 165 mph and an EF-1 means wind speeds were believed to be between 86 and 110 mph. A NWS survey team found a preliminary EF3 tornado that impacted Madison county Illinois.