The Fujita Scale
What is the Fujita scale all about?
The Fujita Scale is used to rate the intensity
of a tornado by examining the damage caused by the tornado after it has
passed over a man-made structure.
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The Fujita Scale
| F-Scale Number |
Intensity Phrase |
Wind Speed |
Type of Damage Done |
| F0 |
Gale tornado |
40-72 mph |
Some damage to chimneys; breaks branches off
trees; pushes over shallow-rooted trees; damages sign boards. |
| F1 |
Moderate tornado |
73-112 mph |
The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane
wind speed; peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations
or overturned; moving autos pushed off the roads; attached garages may
be destroyed. |
| F2 |
Significant tornado |
113-157 mph |
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses;
mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted;
light object missiles generated. |
| F3 |
Severe tornado |
158-206 mph |
Roof and some walls torn off well constructed
houses; trains overturned; most trees in fores uprooted |
| F4 |
Devastating tornado |
207-260 mph |
Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with
weak foundations blown off some distance; cars thrown and large missiles
generated. |
| F5 |
Incredible tornado |
261-318 mph |
Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and
carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles
fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-inforced
concrete structures badly damaged. |
| F6 |
Inconceivable tornado |
319-379 mph |
These winds are very unlikely. The small area
of damage they might produce would probably not be recognizable along with
the mess produced by F4 and F5 wind that would surround the F6 winds. Missiles,
such as cars and refrigerators would do serious secondary damage that could
not be directly identified as F6 damage. If this level is ever acheived,
evidence for it migh only be found in some manner of ground swirl pattern,
for it may never be identifiable through engineering studies |
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