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Tornado Classification
To classify the intensity of a tornado, many meteorologists use the "Fujita-Pearson Scale or otherwise known as simply the "Fujita Scale."
In 1971 Theodore Fujita, a meteorology professor at the University of Chicago, devised a classification system based on damage to manmade structures. Dr. Fujita teamed up with Dr. Pearson two years later to finish the "Fujita-Pearson Scale"
The Fujita Scale
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.
| F-Scale Number | Intensity Phrase | Wind Speed | Type of Damage Done |
| F 0 | Gale Tornado | 40-72 mph |
Some Damage done 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 | 261-318mph | Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disinigrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged |
| F6 | Inconcievable Tornado | 319-379 mph | 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 houshold electrical appliances would do serious secondary damage that could not be directly identified as F6 damage. If this level is ever achieved, evidence for it might not only be found in some manner of ground swirl pattern, for it may never be identifiable through engineering studies. |
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