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Enhanced Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity
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Enhanced Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity

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History

The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) is a system for classifying tornado intensity based on damage to structures and vegetation. It is a modified version of the original Fujita Scale (F-Scale) developed by Japanese-born American meteorologist T. Theodore Fujita in 1971. In 2004 atmospheric researchers and tornado forecasters developed a plan to improve the estimation process and eliminate some of the limitations of the F-Scale, resulting in the EF-Scale, which was adopted for use in the United States in 2007 and in Canada in 2013. It retains many of the features of the original scale but provides more precision at the higher intensity values.

The table provides the EF-Scale of tornado intensity.

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale of tornado intensity*
wind speed range**
EF number metres per second kilometres per hour feet per second miles per hour
*This scale was implemented as the standard scale of tornado intensity for the United States on February 1, 2007.
**Like the Fujita Scale, the Enhanced Fujita Scale is a set of wind estimates (not measurements of wind at the surface). Each level in the Enhanced Fujita Scale is derived from three-second wind gusts estimated at the point of damage to 28 indicators (such as trees, buildings, and various types of infrastructure) and the degree of damage to each indicator. Wind estimates vary with height and exposure. Each value is converted from miles per hour and rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source: Modified from the Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage web page (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ef-scale.html), produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
0 29–38 105–137 95–125 65–85
1 38–49 138–177 126–161 86–110
2 50–60 179–217 163–198 111–135
3 61–74 219–266 199–242 136–165
4 74–89 267–322 243–293 166–200
5 89+ 322+ 293+ over 200
This article was most recently revised and updated by Alison Eldridge.