Vis a Vis the Tornado Force Scale...?

Question

The recent horrible tornadoes in Joplin and Tuscaloosa have been commonly described in the newspapers and in TV and radio commentaries (including NPR) as "Force 5 - with winds of up to 200 mph". But I always thought that Force 5 was winds of 300 mph and above - which is how it is described on Wikipedia. Certainly the damage in Joplin and Tuscaloosa suggest the latter. What is the story - has the Force Scale been changed or is the media (including NPR and The New York Times!!!) somehow getting it wrong???)

? · Accepted Answer

The US doesn't use a "Force Scale" for tornado assessment. We use the Enhanced Fujita Scale. It replaced the old Fujita Scale several years ago. Here is a link that will compare the two, and explain the differences:

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/

In Europe, they use the Torro Scale. Here is a page explaining it: http://www.torro.org.uk/site/tscale.php

? · Answer

Tornado Force Scale

Paul in San Diego · Answer

The enhanced Fujita (EF) scale is how they measure the destructive force of a tornado. And, it doesn't have as much to do with the size and wind speed, as it does how much damage the tornado caused.

For example, a tornado that tops out at 150 MPH, but that plows through a town like Joplin experienced, would have a much higher EF rating than a 200 MPH tornado that never touched the ground in populated areas (no damage or death).

pegminer · Answer

As the first answer noted, the scale has been changed from the Fujita scale to the Enhanced Fujita scale.  They are both classifications based on damage assessment.  Rarely are winds measured in tornadoes anyway, the only place where that happens would be when there is a well-calibrated Doppler radar around.

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Vis a Vis the Tornado Force Scale...?

4 Answers