List_of_F4_and_EF4_tornadoes

List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes

List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes

List of F4/EF4 tornadoes


This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F4, EF4, IF4, or an equivalent rating. These scales – the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale, the International Fujita scale, and the TORRO tornado intensity scale – attempt to estimate the intensity of a tornado by classifying the damage caused to natural features and man-made structures in the tornado's path.

EF4 damage to a residence from the 2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado
The Windsor–Tecumseh Tornado of 1946
F4/EF4 Tornadoes in the United States 1950-2019

Tornadoes are among the most violent known meteorological phenomena. Each year, more than 2,000 tornadoes are recorded worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in North America and Europe.[1][2] In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum wind speeds within tornadic storms based on the damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. F4 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 207 mph (333 km/h) and 260 mph (420 km/h).[3][lower-alpha 1]

Following two particularly devastating tornadoes in 1997 and 1999, engineers questioned the reliability of the Fujita scale. Ultimately, a new scale was devised that took into account 28 different damage indicators; this became known as the Enhanced Fujita scale.[4] With building design and structural integrity taken more into account, winds in an EF4 tornado were estimated to between 166 mph (267 km/h) and 200 mph (320 km/h).[5] The Enhanced Fujita scale is used predominantly in North America. Most of Europe, on the other hand, uses the TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale), which ranks tornado intensity between T0 and T11; F4/EF4 tornadoes are approximately equivalent to T8 to T9 on the T-Scale. Tornadoes rated IF4 on the International Fujita scale are also included on this list.

List of F4/EF4 tornadoes

The most recent EF4 tornado occurred on July 1, 2023 between Didsbury, Alberta and Carstairs, Alberta.

Pre-1950

The National Weather Service in the United States did not rate any tornadoes prior to 1950. Other organizations like the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on the other hand, did rate tornadoes prior to 1950. The only violent tornado that impacted the United States prior to 1950 and has an official rating is the 1946 Windsor–Tecumseh tornado, which received a rating from ECCC. However, the impact to the United States remains officially unrated.

More information Day, Year ...

1950s

See List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (1950–1959)

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

See List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2000–2009)

2010s

See List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2010–2019)

2020s

See List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2020–present)

Possible F4/EF4 tornadoes with no official rating or lower rating

Because the distinctions between tornadoes ratings are often ambiguous, the official ratings of numerous other tornadoes formally rated below F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent have been disputed, with certain government sources or independent studies contradicting the official record. This list includes tornadoes rated F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent by government meteorologists, non-government tornado experts (i.e. Thomas P. Grazulis or Ted Fujita) or meteorological research institutions (i.e. European Severe Storms Laboratory) that rated a tornado differently than the official government organization in charge of the rating. Published academic papers or presentations at academically held meteorological conferences that rate tornadoes as F4/EF4/IF4 or present some evidence to support damage or winds in that category are also ways a tornado can be added to this list.

1870s

Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis gave F4 ratings to 48 tornadoes that occurred in the United States in the 1870s.

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1880s

Grazulis gave F4 ratings to 70 tornadoes that occurred in the United States in the 1880s, and noted one other tornado that might have caused F4 damage.

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1890s

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1910s

More information Day, Year ...

1920s

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1940s

More information Day, Year ...

1950–present

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See also

Notes

  1. The winds estimated by the Fujita Scale are estimated values and have not been verified scientifically.[3]
  2. Was not responsible for the rating, but is the only source for Heino Tooming's rating.
  3. Was not directly responsible for the rating, but had a participate involved in an academically published paper that included the rating.

References

  1. "U.S. Tornado Climatology". National Climatic Data Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. May 20, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  2. "Fujita Tornado Damage Scale". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2006. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  3. "The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale)". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. August 4, 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  4. "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  5. Rowe, M. W. (1976). "Tornadoes in medieval Britain" (PDF). Journal of Meteorology. 1 (7): 219–222. ISSN 1748-2992.
  6. "European Severe Weather Database". European Severe Storms Laboratory. 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  7. Kühne, Thilo. "[Tornado] 11.09.1535 - Oels / Oleśnica (DOL|PL)". Skywarn Deutschland. Thilo Kühne. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  8. "Rockhausen (TH)". Tornadoliste Deutschland. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  9. "July 1, 1891 Tornado Outbreak". European Severe Weather Database. European Severe Storms Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  10. Raymond, Ted. "Dunrobin tornado strongest to hit eastern Ontario since 1902". CFRA 580 News Talk Radio. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  11. "Cyclone in Ontario". The News and Alberta Irrigationist. July 30, 1902. Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  12. "19 Jul 1902, 1 - Calgary Herald at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  13. Dagmar Skamlová' "Regina Cyclone." The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. "The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  14. Paul, Alexander H. (May 1995). "F3 and F4 Tornadoes in Saskatchewan" (PDF). Report to SGI. Saskatchewan Tornado Project, University of Regina. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  15. Rauhala, Jenni; Brooks, Harold E.; Schultz, David M. (May 1, 2012). "Tornado Climatology of Finland". Monthly Weather Review. 140 (5): 1446–1456. Bibcode:2012MWRv..140.1446R. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-11-00196.1. S2CID 56461364. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  16. "Tornado sin precedentes en muchos años". ReliefWeb. Government of Cuba. January 29, 2019. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  17. "Windsor Tornado – June 17, 1946". Environment Canada. July 26, 2004. Archived from the original on 2003-01-11. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
  18. US Department of Commerce, NOAA. "Thurman Tornado August 10th, 1924". www.weather.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  19. "気象庁 | 竜巻等の突風データベース". www.data.jma.go.jp. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  20. Fujita, T. Theodore (1992). The Mystery of Severe Storms. Chicago: Wind Research Laboratory, Department of Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago. pp. 55–58.
  21. "Tornadoliste Deutschland". tornadoliste.de. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  22. Lyza, Anthony W.; Goudeau, Barrett T.; Knupp, Kevin R. (2022). "Damage Analysis and Close-Range Radar Observations of the 13 April 2019 Greenwood Springs, Mississippi, Tornado during VORTEX-SE Meso18-19". Monthly Weather Review. 150 (7): 1873–1893. Bibcode:2022MWRv..150.1873L. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-21-0281.1. Retrieved 2022-08-15.

Sources


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