"EF5" redirects here. For the radioisotope-containing organic chemical used in cancer research, see 18F-EF5.
Enhanced Fujita Scale
EFU
Unknown
No surveyable damage
EF0
65–85 mph
Light damage
EF1
86–110 mph
Moderate damage
EF2
111–135 mph
Considerable damage
EF3
136–165 mph
Severe damage
EF4
166–200 mph
Devastating damage
EF5
>200 mph
Incredible damage
The National Weather Service’s arrow showing the EF scale. This includes a description word for each level of the scale.
The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, France, and Japan.
The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale—six intensity categories from zero to five, representing increasing degrees of damage. It was revised to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys, in order to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage. Better standardizing and elucidating what was previously subjective and ambiguous, it also adds more types of structures and vegetation, expands degrees of damage, and better accounts for variables such as differences in construction quality. An "EF-Unknown" (EFU) category was later added for tornadoes that cannot be rated due to a lack of damage evidence.[1]
As with the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale remains a damage scale and only a proxy for actual wind speeds. While the wind speeds associated with the damage listed have not undergone empirical analysis (such as detailed physical or any numerical modeling) owing to excessive cost, the wind speeds were obtained through a process of expert elicitation based on various engineering studies since the 1970s as well as from the field experience of meteorologists and engineers. In addition to damage to structures and vegetation, radar data, photogrammetry, and cycloidal marks (ground swirl patterns) may be utilized when available.
^Murphy, John D. (July 9, 2018). "National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605" (PDF). National Weather Service. pp. A–74–75. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
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