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Fujita Tornado Damage Scale

Developed in 1971 by T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago


SCALEWIND ESTIMATE *** (MPH)TYPICAL DAMAGE
F0< 73Light damage. Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.
F1 73-112Moderate damage. Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos blown off roads.
F2113-157Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.
F3158-206Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.
F4207-260Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261-318Incredible damage. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT F-SCALE WINDS: Do not use F-scale winds literally. These precise wind speed numbers are actually guesses and have never been scientifically verified. Different wind speeds may cause similar-looking damage from place to place -- even from building to building. Without a thorough engineering analysis of tornado damage in any event, the actual wind speeds needed to cause that damage are unknown. The Enhanced F-scale was implemented February 2007.

Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage

An update to the the original F-scale by a team of meteorologists and wind engineers, implemented in the U.S. on 1 February 2007.

FUJITA SCALEDERIVED EF SCALEOPERATIONAL EF SCALE
F NumberFastest 1/4-mile (mph)3 Second Gust (mph)EF Number3 Second Gust (mph)EF Number3 Second Gust (mph)
0 40-7245-78065-85065-85
1 73-11279-117186-109186-110
2113-157118-1612110-1372111-135
3158-207162-2093138-1673136-165
4208-260210-2614168-1994166-200
5261-318262-3175200-2345Over 200

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ENHANCED F-SCALE WINDS: The Enhanced F-scale still is a set of wind estimates (not measurements) based on damage. Its uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgment of 8 levels of damage to the 28 indicators listed below. These estimates vary with height and exposure. Important: The 3 second gust is not the same wind as in standard surface observations. Standard measurements are taken by weather stations in open exposures, using a directly measured, "one minute mile" speed.

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