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What is the Enhanced Fujita Scale?
April 13, 2022 at 11:46 PM EDT
By WeatherBug's Sabrina Dineshkumar
Have you ever wondered how meteorologists categorize the strength of a tornado after an outbreak? The Enhanced Fujita Scale is a rating system used by scientists to evaluate how strong a tornado is in terms of the extent of observed damage to structures. Let’s dive into the history of the scale, and how it is used today.
Dr. T. Theodore Fujita was a Japanese-American meteorologist who first introduced the idea of the Fujita Scale in his paper, Proposed Characterization of Tornadoes and Hurricanes by Area and Intensity, published in 1971. In his paper, he proposed the idea that tornadoes should be classified according to their intensity and area. He outlined six categories, ranging from F0 (Gale) to F5 (Incredible). Each level of the scale was determined by estimated wind speeds, which were in turn based on the amount of damage caused to man-made structures by the tornado. In 1974, the infamous tornado Super Outbreak from April 3rd-4th occurred, and Dr.Fujita and his colleagues used the F-Scale to demonstrate its essential applications to the field of meteorology. Following this event, the Fujita Scale became the standard for defining tornado intensity.
In the decades after the F-Scale became operational, engineers and meteorologists realized a few changes needed to be made to make the scale more accurate and consistent. The original Fujita Scale had some significant limitations, including that there were no damage indicators and construction quality was not factored in. Hence, the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) was born, with estimated wind speeds that matched more closely with related observed damages.
Today, the Enhanced Fujita scale still ranges from F0 to F5, but the wind speed categories differ. After a tornado, trained scientists can survey the damage caused to homes, vegetation, and other large structures, and then reference a list of Damage Indicators (DIs) and Degrees of Damage (DoD). From there, they can go on to better estimate wind speeds, and the corresponding scale category.
Story Image: pexels.com
Sources: SPC, weather.gov
Dr. T. Theodore Fujita was a Japanese-American meteorologist who first introduced the idea of the Fujita Scale in his paper, Proposed Characterization of Tornadoes and Hurricanes by Area and Intensity, published in 1971. In his paper, he proposed the idea that tornadoes should be classified according to their intensity and area. He outlined six categories, ranging from F0 (Gale) to F5 (Incredible). Each level of the scale was determined by estimated wind speeds, which were in turn based on the amount of damage caused to man-made structures by the tornado. In 1974, the infamous tornado Super Outbreak from April 3rd-4th occurred, and Dr.Fujita and his colleagues used the F-Scale to demonstrate its essential applications to the field of meteorology. Following this event, the Fujita Scale became the standard for defining tornado intensity.
In the decades after the F-Scale became operational, engineers and meteorologists realized a few changes needed to be made to make the scale more accurate and consistent. The original Fujita Scale had some significant limitations, including that there were no damage indicators and construction quality was not factored in. Hence, the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) was born, with estimated wind speeds that matched more closely with related observed damages.
Today, the Enhanced Fujita scale still ranges from F0 to F5, but the wind speed categories differ. After a tornado, trained scientists can survey the damage caused to homes, vegetation, and other large structures, and then reference a list of Damage Indicators (DIs) and Degrees of Damage (DoD). From there, they can go on to better estimate wind speeds, and the corresponding scale category.
Story Image: pexels.com
Sources: SPC, weather.gov