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The old scale lists an F5 tornado as wind speeds of 261–318 mph (420–512 km/h), while the new scale lists an EF5 as a tornado with winds above 200 mph (322 km/h), found to be sufficient to cause the damage previously ascribed to the F5 range of wind speeds. None of the tornadoes in the United States recorded before February 1, 2007, will be ...
The Fujita scale, introduced in 1971 as a means to differentiate tornado intensity and path area, assigned wind speeds to damage that were, at best, educated guesses. [19] Fujita and others recognized this immediately and intensive engineering analysis was conducted through the rest of the 1970s.
The tornado was originally rated as an EF3 based on damage; however, after mobile radar data analysis was conducted, it was concluded to have been an EF5 due to a measured wind speed of greater than 296 mph (476 km/h), second only to the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado.
According to the National Weather Service, the EF scale assigns a tornado a rating based on highest wind speeds occurring within the damage path. It's been used since Feb. 1, 2007. It's been used ...
Tornado intensity is the measure of wind speeds and potential risk produced by a tornado. Intensity can be measured by in situ or remote sensing measurements, but since these are impractical for wide-scale use, intensity is usually inferred by proxies , such as damage.
An EF1 tornado has wind speeds ranging from 86 to 100 mph. An EF2 tornado has wind speeds ranging from 111 to 135 mph, and winds of that force can cause some significant damage.
Late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho – DOW recorded maximum wind speeds at 264 mph (425 km/h) at 160 ft (49 m) above ground level, which the NWS classified at almost ground level. Such wind speeds would fall well into the EF5 range on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, though the maximum damage intensity observed in the town of Spencer was F4.
Timmer also noted that estimated wind speeds inside the tornado reached about 160-170 mph. The full data was released online to help aid further research from the historic intercept.