User:CapeVerdeWave/List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes (draft)

The Chandler, Minnesota, F5 tornado of June 16, 1992

This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F5, EF5, or an equivalent rating, the highest possible ratings on the various tornado intensity scales. These scales – the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale, and the TORRO tornado intensity scale – attempt to estimate the intensity of a tornado by classifying the damage caused to natural features and man-made structures in the tornado's path.

F5 damage in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, from the May 3, 1999, tornado

Tornadoes are among the most violent known meteorological phenomena. Each year, more than 2,000 tornadoes are recorded worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in the United States and Europe. In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum wind speeds within tornadic storms based on the damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. F5 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 261 and 318 mph (420 and 512 km/h).

Following two particularly devastating tornadoes in 1997 and 1999, engineers questioned the reliability of the Fujita scale. Ultimately, a new scale was devised that took into account 28 different damage indicators; this became known as the Enhanced Fujita scale. With building design and structural integrity taken more into account, winds in an EF5 tornado were estimated to be in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h). The Enhanced Fujita scale is used predominantly in North America. Most of Europe, on the other hand, uses the TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale), which ranks tornado intensity between T0 and T11; F5/EF5 tornadoes are approximately equivalent to T10–T11 on the T-Scale.

In the United States, between 1950 and January 31, 2007, a total of 50 tornadoes were officially rated F5, and since February 1, 2007, a total of nine tornadoes have been officially rated EF5. Since 1950, Canada has had one tornado officially rated an F5. Outside the United States and Canada, seven tornadoes have been rated F5/EF5 or equivalent: two each in France, Germany, and Italy and one in Russia.

Several other tornadoes have also been documented as possibly attaining this status, though they are not officially rated as such. The work of tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis revealed the existence of several dozen likely F5 tornadoes between 1880 and 1995. Grazulis also called into question the ratings of several tornadoes currently rated F5 by official sources. Many tornadoes officially rated F4/EF4 or equivalent have been disputed and described as actual F5/EF5 or equivalent tornadoes, and vice versa; since structures are completely destroyed in both cases, distinguishing between an EF4 tornado and an EF5 tornado is often very difficult.

List of events

A map detailing the locations of all officially rated F5 and EF5 tornadoes in the United States from 1950 to 2013

The tornadoes on this list have been formally rated F5 by an official government source. Unless otherwise noted, the source of the F5 rating is the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), as shown in the archives of the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).

Prior to 1950, assessments of F5 tornadoes are based primarily on the work of Thomas P. Grazulis. The NCDC has accepted 38 of his F5 classifications of tornadoes occurring between 1880 and 1950. In addition to the accepted ones, Grazulis rated a further 25 during the same period which were not accepted. Grazulis' work has identified 16 additional F5 tornadoes between 1950 and 1995, with four later being accepted by the NCDC. From 1950 to 1970, tornadoes were assessed retrospectively, primarily using information recorded in government databases, as well as newspaper photographs and eyewitness accounts. Beginning in 1971, tornadoes were rated by the NWS using on-site damage surveys.

As of February 1, 2007, tornadoes in the United States are rated using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which replaced the Fujita scale in order to more accurately correlate tornadic intensity with damage indicators and to augment and refine damage descriptors. No earlier tornadoes will be reclassified on the Enhanced Fujita scale, and no new tornadoes in the United States will be rated on the original Fujita scale. France and Canada also adopted the EF-Scale in subsequent years.

Official F5/EF5 tornadoes

Worldwide, a total of 62 tornadoes have been officially rated F5/EF5 since 1950: 59 in the United States and one each in France, Russia, and Canada. Of the 59 tornadoes in the United States, 50 are officially rated F5 on the original Fujita scale (with dates of occurrence between May 11, 1953, and May 3, 1999), and nine are officially rated EF5 on the Enhanced Fujita scale (with dates of occurrence between May 4, 2007, and May 20, 2013). An additional four tornadoes which occurred prior to 1950, all in Europe, have been officially rated F5 or equivalent by the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) or the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO), bringing the worldwide total for official ratings of F5/EF5 or equivalent to 66.

  – Official F5/EF5; undisputed
  – Officially rated F5/EF5, but rating is explicitly disputed among reliable sources; event may not have been F5/EF5

Tornadoes officially rated F5/EF5 or equivalent

Day	Year	Country	Subdivision	Location	Fatalities	Notes on E/F5 damage	Rated E/F5 by
Jun 29	1764	Germany	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	Woldegk	1	This tornado was among the strongest ever recorded, with damage assessed at the highest level of the TORRO scale (T11). The rating was assigned based on several surveys by German scientist Gottlob Burchard Genzmer.	ESSL, Genzmer
Apr 23	1800	Germany	Saxony	Hainichen	0	Homes were completely destroyed, and large swaths of forest were leveled with trees debarked.	ESSL
Aug 19	1845	France	Normandy	Montville	75	This tornado was rated T11. Three large mills, at least one of which was newly built, were leveled and partly swept clean. One of the mills was a four-story structure that likely collapsed. Large debris was carried 30 km (19 mi), and mature trees were thrown "very far."	ESSL, TORRO
Jul 24	1930	Italy	Treviso, Udine	Volpago del Montello, Selva del Montello, Giavera del Montello, Nervesa della Battaglia	23	An extremely powerful tornado, rated T10, destroyed "many" villages and two hundred homes.	ESSL, TORRO
May 11	1953	United States	Texas	Lorena, Hewitt, Waco, Bellmead	114	1953 Waco tornado outbreak – Homes outside Waco sustained F5-level damage. Large, multi-story buildings collapsed in downtown Waco, but incurred sub-F5-level damage. First officially ranked F5 tornado in the United States.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 29	1953	United States	North Dakota	Fort Rice	2	Tornado outbreak of May 29, 1953 – A large church was leveled and its pews were driven 4 ft (1.2 m) into the ground. Parts of a car were carried for 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km). Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 8	1953	United States	Michigan	Flushing Township, Mount Morris Township, Beecher, Genesee Township	116	1953 Flint–Beecher tornado – Entire blocks of homes were completely swept away, with only rows of bare slabs and empty basements remaining. Cycloidal ground scouring occurred as well.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 27	1953	United States	Iowa	Adair	1	Tornado outbreak of June 27, 1953 – One farm was obliterated. Heavy machinery was thrown for more than 100 yd (91 m).	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Dec 5	1953	United States	Mississippi	Vicksburg, Waltersville	38	1953 Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado – "Very frail" homes were leveled. Rated F4 by Grazulis.	SPC, NWS, NCDC
May 25	1955	United States	Oklahoma, Kansas	Blackwell, Oklahoma	20	1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak – Many homes were swept away in town.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 25	1955	United States	Oklahoma, Kansas	Udall, Kansas	80	1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak – Nearly every structure in Udall was leveled.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 3	1956	United States	Michigan	Saugatuck, Hudsonville, Grand Rapids	18	Tornado outbreak sequence of April 2–3, 1956 – Many homes and businesses were swept completely away, leaving bare foundations behind. Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes, and narrated as a probable F5 in each.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 20	1957	United States	Kansas, Missouri	Spring Hill (KS), Kansas City (MO)	44	May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak sequence – Homes were leveled in both states, but F5-level damage occurred to both homes and stores in Missouri, chiefly the neighborhoods of Martin City, Ruskin Heights, and Hickman Mills.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 20	1957	United States	North Dakota, Minnesota	Fargo (ND), Moorhead (MN)	10	Fargo tornado – Homes in the newest part of Fargo were leveled, some of which were swept away.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Dec 18	1957	United States	Illinois	Sunfield	1	Tornado outbreak sequence of December 18–20, 1957 – The entire Sunfield community "vanished."	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 4	1958	United States	Wisconsin	Menomonie, Colfax	21	Tornado outbreak of June 4, 1958 – Homes were swept away. Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 5	1960	United States	Oklahoma	Prague, Iron Post, Sapulpa	5	May 1960 tornado outbreak sequence – Homes were swept away.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 3	1964	United States	Texas	Wichita Falls	7	Two homes adjacent to each other were swept away at F5 intensity.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 5	1964	United States	Nebraska	Bradshaw	4	Numerous farms were swept away.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 8	1965	United States	South Dakota	Gregory, Colome	0	Early May 1965 tornado outbreak – Three farms were swept completely away.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Mar 3	1966	United States	Mississippi	Jackson, Flowood, Leesburg, Forkville, Midway	57	Tornado outbreak of March 3–4, 1966 – Homes were swept away, and a brick church was obliterated. Pavement was scoured from roads, and cars were thrown more than 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) from where they originated. The newly built Candlestick Park shopping center was leveled, and concrete masonry blocks were scattered for long distances. Steel girders were "twisted like wet noodles" at a glass plant.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 8	1966	United States	Kansas	Topeka	16	Tornado outbreak sequence of June 1966 – Entire rows of homes were swept away, and grass was scoured from lawns. Eight homes incurred F5-level damage on Burnett's Mound, disproving a myth that the mound protected Topeka from tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Oct 14	1966	United States	Iowa	Belmond	6	A house was swept away on the outskirts of town, and on this basis the tornado was officially rated F5. However, the home was likely poorly anchored, as debris was deposited in a neat pile near the foundation, and nearby homes only showed slight (F1-level) damage. Rated F4 by Grazulis.	SPC, NWS, NCDC
Jun 24	1967	France	Hauts-de-France	Palluel	6	Homes were leveled in and near Palluel, but the tornado was rated F5 on the basis of cars being thrown 200 m (220 yd). Rated F3 by Grazulis.	ESSL
Apr 23	1968	United States	Kentucky, Ohio	Wheelersburg, Gallipolis	7	1968 Wheelersburg, Ohio tornado outbreak – Homes were swept away, with only their foundations left in some cases. Rated F4 by Grazulis.	SPC, NWS, NCDC
May 15	1968	United States	Iowa	Charles City	13	Tornado outbreak of May 1968 – Homes and farms were leveled or swept away.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 15	1968	United States	Iowa	Oelwein, Maynard	5	Tornado outbreak of May 1968 – Homes were swept completely away in both towns.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 13	1968	United States	Minnesota	Tracy	9	1968 Tracy tornado – Several businesses, farms, and homes were swept completely away. A couple of boxcars were thrown 300 yd (900 ft), and a steel I-beam was carried for 2 mi (3.2 km) on a piece of roof.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 11	1970	United States	Texas	Lubbock	26	1970 Lubbock tornado – Homes were swept away at F5 intensity, and trees were almost completely debarked. A high-rise building suffered structural deformation, a 13-tonne (29,000 lb) metal fertilizer tank was thrown nearly 1 mi (1.6 km) through the air, and large oil tanks were carried for over 300 yd (900 ft; 270 m; 0.27 km); however, none of these cases was deemed to have required winds of F5 intensity. This tornado was surveyed by Fujita and individual cases of damage in Lubbock were used as guidelines for the newly created Fujita scale.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Feb 21	1971	United States	Louisiana, Mississippi	Delhi (LA), Waverly (LA), Delta City (MS), Inverness (MS), Moorhead (MS)	47	February 1971 Mississippi Delta tornado outbreak – Was the sole F5 tornado on record in Louisiana. Numerous small homes were completely leveled in both states, but the only official F5 damage occurred in Louisiana, as damage in Mississippi only reached F4-level intensity. Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 6	1973	United States	Texas	Valley Mills	0	Was rated F5 by wind engineers on the basis of vehicles being carried long distances. Two pickup trucks were lofted for hundreds of yards, one of which traveled 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) through the air. Peak structural damage was only of F2 intensity, as two rural barns were obliterated. The F5 rating was accepted by Fujita at the time.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Indiana	Depauw, Palmyra, Martinsburg, Daisy Hill	6	1974 Super Outbreak – Was one of six tornadoes on April 3 to be rated F5 by Fujita. Homes were swept completely away, and entire farms were leveled.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Ohio	Xenia, Wilberforce	32	1974 Super Outbreak – Aerial photography and isoline surveys by Fujita showed that entire rows of brick homes were swept away and sustained F5 damage. Wind-rowing of debris occurred in nearby fields, and very intense damage was reported to steel-reinforced schools. The damage to schools was among the worst such instances of damage Fujita surveyed.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Kentucky, Indiana	Hardinsburg (KY), Brandenburg (KY)	31	1974 Super Outbreak – Multiple well-built, anchor-bolted homes were swept away, one of which sustained total collapse of its poured concrete walk-out basement wall. Grass was scoured from the ground, and aerial photography showed extensive wind-rowing in Brandenburg. Trees were completely debarked, and low-lying shrubs next to leveled homes were uprooted and stripped. Multiple vehicles were also thrown hundreds of yards and stripped down to their frames.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio	Rising Sun (IN), Cincinnati (OH), Mack (OH), Bridgetown (OH)	3	1974 Super Outbreak – Homes were swept away in Sayler Park, and a large floating restaurant barge was lifted, ripped from its moorings, and flipped upside-down by the tornado. Boats and vehicles were carried long distances through the air.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Alabama	Mount Hope, Mount Moriah, Tanner, Capshaw, Harvest	28	1974 Super Outbreak – Numerous homes were swept away and scattered. In Limestone County, where the F5 damage occurred, a large swath of trees was leveled, and ground scouring occurred nearby, with dirt found to have been dug up and plastered to the bark, and a pump was lifted out of a well at one location. Shrubbery was debarked as well.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 3	1974	United States	Alabama, Tennessee	Tanner (AL), Capshaw (AL), Harvest (AL), Hazel Green (AL), Vanntown (TN)	22	1974 Super Outbreak – Officially listed as an F5, but rated an F4 by Grazulis and Fujita. Crossed into Tennessee and did F4 damage in both states, though the supposed F5 damage only occurred in Alabama, where numerous homes were swept away and extensive wind-rowing of debris occurred. Some of the damage in Tennessee was previously rated F5, but later downgraded to F4.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, NWA
Apr 3	1974	United States	Alabama	Guin, Twin, Delmar	28	1974 Super Outbreak – According to the NWS in Birmingham, Alabama, this is considered one of the strongest tornadoes ever to impact the United States. Sources indicate that F5 damage was reported along much of the path, and that many homes in and near Guin sustained F5 damage. Many of these homes were swept away, their debris being scattered across fields, and some reportedly had their "foundations dislodged and in some cases swept away as well." A large industrial plant in Guin was reduced to a pile of mangled beams. Additionally, photographs showed intense wind-rowing from suction vortices. The path of the tornado was visible in satellite imagery, as thousands of trees, including in the William B. Bankhead National Forest, were snapped.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Mar 26	1976	United States	Oklahoma	Spiro, Murry Spur	2	Frame homes were swept away, and 134,000-pound (61,000 kg) coal cars were tossed. Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 19	1976	United States	Texas	Brownwood	0	Homes were swept away, with only a bathtub remaining on one of the foundations. Several teenagers were caught in the open and were picked up and thrown 1,000 yd (3,000 ft; 910 m; 0.57 mi) but survived. Rated F4 by Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes, but listed as an F5 in F5–F6 Tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 13	1976	United States	Iowa	Jordan	0	Homes were swept away and well-built farms reportedly vanished without a trace. In a conversation with Grazulis concerning the "worst" tornadoes, this tornado was reportedly mentioned by Fujita as having produced some of the most intense instances of damage he surveyed, along with the 1974 Xenia tornado.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 4	1977	United States	Alabama	Birmingham, Tarrant	22	Tornado outbreak of April 1977 – Many homes were swept away, some of which had all of their cinder block walk-out basement walls completely swept away as well. Trees were debarked and two dump trucks were thrown through the air. Along with an example from the 1970 Lubbock tornado, Fujita used a visual example from this tornado to illustrate F5 damage.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 2	1982	United States	Oklahoma	Speer, Messer, Golden, Broken Bow	0	Tornado outbreak of April 2–3, 1982 – A house was swept away with only carpet tacks left on the empty foundation. The F5 rating is disputed because the home was likely not anchored properly and its destruction "probably" reflected F3-level winds instead. Due to its appearance Fujita maintained the F5 rating. Other houses suffered F4 damage.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Fujita
Jun 7–8	1984	United States	Wisconsin	Barneveld, Black Earth	9	1984 Barneveld tornado outbreak – A cul-de-sac of newly built homes was swept away, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards. Small trees were debarked as well. Like the 1966 Topeka tornado, this event also disproved a myth that a nearby ridge or "mound" protected an area from tornadoes.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Jun 9	1984	Soviet Union (Russia)	Ivanovo Oblast	Ivanovo, Lunevo	69	1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak – An extremely intense multiple-vortex tornado overturned a crane, threw a multi-ton water tank over 200 m (660 ft), unrooted and threw trees long distances, and destroyed a steel-reinforced building. The tornado was exceptionally long-lived, remaining on the ground for roughly 100 mi (160 km) over the course of two hours. At least 69 fatalities were confirmed, though the actual toll was likely higher.	TORRO
May 31	1985	United States	Ohio, Pennsylvania	Newton Falls (OH), Lordstown (OH), Niles (OH), Wheatland (PA), Hermitage (PA)	18	1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak – This tornado, called a "maxi-tornado" by Grazulis to denote its extreme intensity, caused F5 damage along much of its path through Niles and Wheatland. A shopping center in Niles was obliterated, sustaining F5 damage and several deaths. Metal girders at the center twisted and buckled. Well-built, anchor-bolted homes were swept away, and 75,000-pound (34,000 kg) petroleum storage tanks were ripped from their anchors and thrown hundreds of feet. Pavement was scoured from a parking lot, and a steel-frame trucking plant was obliterated and partially swept away with the beams severely mangled. Routing slips from the plant were found wedged into the remaining asphalt of the parking lot. An airplane wing was carried 10 mi (16 km) from where it originated. This remains the only F5 or EF5 in Pennsylvania history.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Mar 13	1990	United States	Kansas	Castleton, Haven, Burrton, Hesston	1	March 1990 Central United States tornado outbreak – Many homes and businesses were swept away in town with only slabs and empty basements remaining. Industrial buildings were obliterated and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and stripped down to their frames.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Mar 13	1990	United States	Kansas	Goessel	1	March 1990 Central United States tornado outbreak – Homes were obliterated and swept away, but the F5 rating was assigned due to very intense cycloidal ground scouring. Considered by some sources to be one of the strongest tornadoes ever surveyed at the time, though little detailed information about the damage is available.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Aug 28	1990	United States	Illinois	Oswego, Plainfield, Joliet	29	1990 Plainfield tornado – A mature corn crop was scoured from the ground, leaving nothing but bare soil behind. Several inches of topsoil were blown away as well. A 20-tonne (20,000 kg) tractor trailer was tossed from a road and thrown more than 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km), and vehicles were picked up and carried through the air. The F5 rating is based solely upon the extreme ground scouring; areas in Plainfield sustained high-end F4 structural damage, though the ground scouring nearby was much less intense than where the corn crop was obliterated. Fujita considered the ground scouring to be "comparable to the worst he had seen."	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 26	1991	United States	Kansas	Haysville, McConnell Air Force Base, Andover	17	Andover tornado outbreak – Many large, well-built homes with anchor bolts were swept away, leaving bare foundations behind, and grass was scoured from the ground. Extensive wind-rowing of debris occurred, leaving streaks of debris extending away from empty foundations. Trees and small twigs were completely stripped of their bark. Vehicles were thrown up to 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) from where they originated and were mangled beyond recognition.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 16	1992	United States	Minnesota	Chandler, Lake Wilson	1	Tornado outbreak of June 14–18, 1992 – Multiple homes were swept away, and vehicles were thrown and stripped down to their frames.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jul 18	1996	United States	Wisconsin	Oakfield	0	1996 Oakfield tornado outbreak – Well-built homes with anchor bolts were swept away, including one where rebar supports were bent over at a right angle, or 90°. Vehicles were thrown up to 400 yd (1,200 ft) through the air and mangled beyond recognition. Crops were scoured to 1-inch (2.5 cm) stubble. While listing the tornado as an F5, Grazulis considered its rating to be "somewhat questionable."	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 27	1997	United States	Texas	Jarrell	27	1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak – Produced some of the most extreme damage ever documented. An entire subdivision of well-built homes was swept completely away with very little debris remaining. Some of the homes were well-bolted to their foundations. Long expanses of pavement, cumulatively 525 ft (160 m; 175 yd; 0.160 km) in length, were torn from roads, and a large swath of ground was scoured out to a depth of 18 in (0.46 m). Vehicles were torn apart and scattered across fields, "several dozen" of which were reportedly never found, and a recycling plant was obliterated. Trees were completely debarked and mutilated cattle were carried more than 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km). The tornado was very slow-moving, which may have exacerbated the destruction to some extent.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 8	1998	United States	Alabama	Oak Grove, Sylvan Springs, Pleasant Grove, Edgewater, Birmingham	32	Tornado outbreak of April 6–9, 1998 – Many homes were swept away along the path.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 16	1998	United States	Tennessee	Wayne County, Lawrence County	0	Tornado outbreak of April 15–16, 1998 – Many large and well-built homes with anchor bolts were swept away, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards. A swath of grass 200 ft (67 yd) wide was scoured from the ground, with nothing but bare soil and clumps of dirt remaining; according to Grazulis, this phenomenon indicated "extreme" winds at ground level.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, NWA, Grazulis
May 3	1999	United States	Oklahoma	Amber, Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Oklahoma City, Del City, Midwest City	36	1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado – Mobile radar recorded winds up to 302 ± 22 mph (486 ± 35 km/h), which is the highest wind speed ever measured on Earth. Many homes were swept completely away, some of which were well-bolted to their foundations, and debris from some homes was finely granulated. Severe ground and pavement scouring occurred, trees and shrubs were completely debarked, and vehicles were thrown up to 440 yd (400 m) from where they originated. An airplane wing was carried for several miles, and a 36,000-pound (16,000 kg) freight car was bounced 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km). This was the 50th and last tornado to be officially rated F5 on the Fujita scale in the United States before the introduction of the Enhanced Fujita Scale in 2007.	SPC, NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, DOW, Wurman
May 4	2007	United States	Kansas	Greensburg	11	Tornado outbreak of May 4–6, 2007 – This tornado destroyed 95% of the town, including seven well-built homes with anchor bolts that were swept away. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled, several freight train cars were overturned, and multi-ton oil tanks were destroyed. Fire hydrants were ripped from the ground in town, and large trees were completely denuded and debarked as well. This was the first tornado to have been rated EF5 after the retirement of the original Fujita Scale in the United States in February 2007. Aerial views of the tornado's path showed spiral and erratic paths from suction vortices in fields before it hit Greensburg; the area was partially scoured with some vegetation removed.	SPC, NWS, Marshall
Jun 22	2007	Canada	Manitoba	Elie	0	2007 Elie, Manitoba tornado – Two homes were swept away, including one that was well-bolted to its foundation. A few of the bolts themselves were snapped off. A van was thrown 150 metres (490 ft) through the air, and nearby trees were debarked as well. Only officially rated F5 tornado in Canada. Last tornado to be rated F5 due to Environment Canada utilizing the Enhanced Fujita Scale beginning April 1, 2013.	EC
May 25	2008	United States	Iowa	Parkersburg, New Hartford	9	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 22–31, 2008 – Well-built homes with anchor bolts were swept away, 17 of which were assessed to have sustained EF5 damage. Two of them had no visible debris left anywhere near the foundations. A concrete walk-out basement wall was pushed over at one home, and the concrete floor was cracked. A rebar support set into the foundation of another home was found snapped in half, and reinforced concrete light poles were snapped and dragged along the ground. A large industrial building was completely destroyed, with metal beams twisted and sheared off at their bases, and the foundation pushed clean of the metal framing and debris. Vehicles were thrown long distances and stripped down to their frames as well. Additionally, a large field east of Parkersburg was filled with finely granulated debris that was wind-rowed in long streaks, trees were completely debarked, and shrubs were uprooted and stripped in some areas.	SPC, NWS
Apr 27	2011	United States	Mississippi	Philadelphia, Preston	3	2011 Philadelphia, Mississippi tornado – Rated EF5 based upon extreme ground scouring. The tornado dug a trench 2 ft (0.61 m) deep into a pasture, leaving nothing but large clumps of dirt and bare topsoil behind. A tied-down mobile home was lofted through the air and carried 300 yd (270 m), with no indication of contact with the ground. Several vehicles were tossed hundreds of yards and wrapped around trees, and a steel I-beam was twisted and embedded into the ground. Pavement was scoured from roads as well, and extreme debarking and denuding of trees occurred, some of which were ripped out of the ground and thrown up to 20 yards away.	SPC, NWS
Apr 27	2011	United States	Mississippi, Alabama	Smithville (MS), Shottsville (AL)	23	2011 Smithville, Mississippi tornado – This tornado produced some of the most violent damage ever documented. Numerous well-built, anchor-bolted brick homes were swept away, including one that had part of its concrete slab foundation pulled up and dislodged slightly. Floor tiles and anchor bolts were ripped from the foundations of several homes. An SUV was thrown half a mile into the top of the town's water tower, and was recovered on the opposite side of town. Other vehicles were torn into multiple pieces, stripped down to their frames, wrapped around trees, or simply never recovered. In the most intense damage area, all plumbing and appliances at home-sites were "shredded or missing", and debris was finely granulated. Chip and tar pavement was torn from road, large trees were completely debarked, and a metal waste pipe was pulled out of the ground. Manhole covers and fire hydrants were ripped from the ground as well. A large brick funeral home was reduced to a bare slab, and extensive wind-rowing of debris occurred next to the foundation. Outside of town, the ground was deeply scoured in an open field. Additionally, low-lying vegetation and shrubbery was completely debarked and shredded.	SPC, NWS
Apr 27	2011	United States	Alabama, Tennessee	Hamilton (AL), Hackleburg (AL), Phil Campbell (AL), Tanner (AL), Athens (AL), Harvest (AL), Huntland (TN)	72	2011 Hackleburg–Phil Campbell tornado – This was the deadliest tornado in Alabama history. Numerous homes, some of which were large, well-built, and anchor-bolted were swept away. Debris from some obliterated homes was scattered and wind-rowed well away from the foundations. One home that was swept away had its concrete stemwalls sheared off at ground level. Vehicles were thrown at least 200 yd (180 m), and at least one large vehicle that was missing after the tornado was never located. Hundreds of trees were completely debarked and twisted, and in some cases were reduced only to stubs. Pavement was scoured from roads as well, a large industrial plant was leveled to the ground, and a restaurant that was swept away had a small portion of its foundation slab torn apart.	SPC, NWS
Apr 27	2011	United States	Alabama, Georgia	Fyffe (AL), Rainsville (AL), Sylvania (AL), Ider (AL)	25	2011 Super Outbreak – Many homes were swept away, some of which had their concrete porches torn away and shattered, with debris strewn up to a mile away from the foundations in some cases. A few of the homes were bolted to their foundations. An 800-pound (360 kg) safe was ripped from its anchors and thrown 600 ft (180 m), and its door was ripped from its frame. Ground scouring occurred, and sidewalk pavement was pulled up. A pickup truck was tossed 250 yd (750 ft) and torn apart. An underground storm shelter had much of its dirt covering scoured away and was heaved slightly out of the ground, and pavement was scoured from roads. One well-built stone house was completely obliterated, and a stone pillar was ripped completely out of the ground at that residence, pulling up a section of house foundation in the process.	SPC, NWS
May 22	2011	United States	Missouri	Joplin, Duquesne	158	2011 Joplin tornado – Deadliest tornado in the United States since 1947. Many homes, business, and steel-frame industrial buildings were swept away, and large vehicles including semi-trucks and buses were thrown hundreds of yards. A large multi-story hospital had its foundation and underpinning system so severely damaged that it was structurally compromised and had to be torn down. Reinforced concrete porches were deformed, lifted, and tossed, and 300-pound (140 kg) concrete parking stops anchored with rebar were ripped from parking lots and tossed well over 100 ft (30 m). Vehicles were thrown several blocks away from the residences where they originated, and a few were never recovered. Damage to driveways was noted at some residences as well. A large steel-reinforced concrete "step and floor structure" leading to one building was warped slightly and cracked. Ground and pavement scouring occurred, and heavy manhole covers were removed from roads as well. On June 10, 2013, an engineering study found no evidence of EF5 structural damage in Joplin due to the poor quality of construction of many buildings. However, the EF5 rating stood as the National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri, stated that survey teams found only a very small area of EF5 structural damage (at and around the hospital) and that it could have easily been missed in the survey, and the EF5 rating was mainly based on large vehicles being thrown long distances, along with non-conventional, non-structural instances of damage, such as removal of manhole covers, pavement, concrete porches, driveways, and parking stops, and the presence of wind-rowed debris.	SPC, NWS, Marshall
May 24	2011	United States	Oklahoma	Hinton, Calumet, El Reno, Piedmont, Guthrie	9	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 – Mobile radar recorded winds over 200 mph (320 km/h). Many homes were swept away, trees were completely debarked, and extensive ground scouring occurred. At the Cactus 117 oil rig, a 1,900,000-pound (860,000 kg) oil derrick was blown over and rolled three times. Cars were thrown long distances and wrapped around trees, including an SUV that was thrown 780 yd (710 m) and had its body ripped from the frame. Several cars near the beginning of the path were thrown more than 1,093 yd (0.621 mi). Additionally, a 20,000-pound (9,100 kg) oil tanker truck was thrown approximately 1 mi (1.6 km). Mobile Doppler radar indicated wind speeds as high as 295 mph (475 km/h).	SPC, NWS, Wurman
May 20	2013	United States	Oklahoma	Newcastle, Moore	24	2013 Moore tornado – Many homes were swept away, including nine that were well-built and bolted to their foundations and two elementary schools were completely destroyed. Extensive ground scouring occurred with only bare soil left in some areas, and a 10-tonne (10,000 kg) propane tank was thrown more than 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) through the air. Trees and shrubs were completely debarked, wind-rowing of debris was noted, and an oil tank was thrown a full mile from a production site, while another was never found. A manhole cover was removed near Moore Medical Center, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and torn into multiple pieces.	SPC, NWS, Marshall

Possible F5/EF5 tornadoes officially rated F4/EF4 or lower

Because the distinctions between F4/EF4 and F5/EF5 tornadoes are often ambiguous, the official ratings of numerous other tornadoes formally rated below F5/EF5 or equivalent have been disputed, with certain government sources or independent studies contradicting the official record.

  – Listed as an F5/EF5 on the 2000 NCDC tornado climatology memorandum
  – Rated or mentioned as a possible F5/EF5 by tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis
  – Rated or mentioned as a possible F5/EF5 by an international agency

Tornadoes officially rated below F5/EF5 or equivalent but which may have been F5/EF5

Day	Year	Country	Subdivision	Location	Fatalities	Notes on possible E/F5 damage	Rated E/F5 by
Jul 20	1931	Poland	Lublin Voivodeship	Lublin	6	This tornado is officially rated F4; however, the Polish Weather Service estimated winds at 246 to 324 mph (396 to 521 km/h), potentially ranking it as an F5.	ESSL
Jun 17	1946	United States, Canada	Michigan, Ontario	River Rouge (MI), Windsor (ON), LaSalle (ON), Tecumseh (ON)	17	1946 Windsor–Tecumseh tornado – Officially rated F4; however, one home had a portion of its concrete block foundation swept away, indicating borderline F5 damage.	EC
May 18	1951	United States	Texas	Olney	2	Many homes in town were destroyed, some of which were swept away with very little debris left. Noted as "possibly F5" by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Sep 26	1951	United States	Wisconsin	Waupaca	6	Tornado obliterated a trio of farmsteads. Mentioned as a probable F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Mar 21	1952	United States	Mississippi, Tennessee	Byhalia (MS), Moscow (TN)	17	Tornado outbreak of March 21–22, 1952 – Officially rated F4 in tornado databases; however, the National Climatic Data Center lists this as an F5 event in a technical memorandum reporting all known F5 tornadoes. The only possible F5 damage was to a concrete block structure that may or may not have been steel-reinforced. It originally was the first officially ranked F5 tornado in the United States, but was later downgraded to F4.	NCDC
May 22	1952	United States	Kansas	Linwood, Edwardsville	0	Tornado leveled the home of a bank president. Mentioned as a possible F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Jun 8	1953	United States	Ohio	Cygnet	18	Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence – Possible but unverifiable F5 damage occurred near Cygnet where homes were swept completely away. A steel-and-concrete bridge was destroyed as the tornado passed near Jerry City.	Grazulis
Jun 9	1953	United States	Massachusetts	Petersham, Barre, Rutland, Holden, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Westborough, Southborough	94	1953 Worcester tornado – Many strong structures with numerous interior walls were leveled, and entire blocks of homes were swept cleanly away. The large, brick Assumption College sustained severe damage, and its upper stories were completely destroyed. A large, multi-ton storage tank was carried over a road, and trees along the path were debarked as well. Debris from this tornado was found in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1993 Grazulis noted that an F5 rating was "probably appropriate," and in a later publication of his, in 2001, the tornado was posthumously rated F5, based on newly available photographs of the "immense" destruction, which according to Grazulis indicated that the tornado merited an F5 rating and "should" have been assigned an appropriate designation in 1975, but was instead rated F4 at that time.	Grazulis
May 1	1954	United States	Texas, Oklahoma	Crowell (TX), Vernon (TX), Snyder (OK)	0	Vehicles were thrown more than 100 yd (300 ft), and three farms were entirely swept away. Mentioned as a probable F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Jul 2	1955	United States	North Dakota	Walcott	2	Photograph of a farmhouse showed possible F5 damage.	Grazulis
May 21	1957	United States	Missouri	Fremont, Van Buren	7	May 1957 Central Plains tornado outbreak – Most of Fremont was destroyed, with many structures swept away. Possible F5 damage occurred to schools, homes, and businesses near the railroad tracks, but houses in the area were poorly constructed.	Grazulis
Jun 16	1957	Italy	Pavia	Robecco Pavese, Valle Scuropasso	7	Many large stone buildings were flattened. Officially rated F4 but images show possible T10/low-end F5 damage.	ESSL
Jun 10	1958	United States	Kansas	El Dorado	15	Reports indicated possible F5-level damage to homes. A car was thrown 100 yd (300 ft), but damage photographs were inconclusive as to whether F5 structural damage occurred. Nevertheless, considered to be a probable F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
May 19	1960	United States	Kansas	Wamego, St. Marys	0	Two farms were swept away. Considered to be F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
May 30	1961	United States	Nebraska	Anselmo, Gates, Sargent	0	All buildings and machinery were swept away from a farm. Widely accepted as an F5 tornado, including within the NCDC Technical Memorandum; however, it is listed as an F4 in the official databases.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 6	1963	United States	South Dakota	Swett, Patricia	0	Produced possible F5 damage over farmland. A church "disappeared" and one home "seemed to evaporate into the air." This tornado is listed as only F3 in the official database.	Grazulis
Apr 12	1964	United States	Kansas	Lawrence	0	Produced possible F5 damage. Farms were leveled and a truck was thrown 300 yd (270 m).	Grazulis
Apr 11	1965	United States	Indiana	Dunlap	36	1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – This was the second violent tornado to strike Dunlap within 90 minutes. A well-built truck stop was leveled and many permanent homes were swept away in two subdivisions. Rated F5 by Fujita in the Chicago Damage Area Per Path Length (DAPPL), but later downgraded to F4, the tornado is widely considered to be an F5 in older sources.	NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Apr 11	1965	United States	Indiana	Lebanon, Sheridan	28	1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – This is listed as an F5 in the NCDC memorandum. Farms were obliterated and vehicles were thrown up 100 yd (300 ft).	NCDC
Apr 11	1965	United States	Ohio	Pittsfield Township, Strongsville	18	1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – Homes were cleanly swept away in Strongsville and Pittsfield, and Pittsfield was completely destroyed. Only a concrete war monument remained standing in Pittsfield, where homes "vanished." Rated F5 by Fujita in the Chicago Damage Area Per Path Length (DAPPL), but later downgraded to F4, though widely considered an F5 in older reports.	Grazulis, Fujita
May 8	1965	United States	Nebraska	Wolbach, Primrose	4	Early-May 1965 tornado outbreak sequence – Widely accepted as an F5, and reported to have been a double tornado as it hit Primrose. Homes were swept from their foundations, and 90% of the village was destroyed. Cars from Primrose were carried for 400 yd (1,200 ft), and a truck body was carried and rolled for 2 mi (3.2 km).	NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 23	1968	United States	Kentucky, Ohio	Falmouth (KY), Ripley (OH)	6	1968 Wheelersburg, Ohio tornado outbreak – Mentioned as a possible F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Apr 27	1971	United States	Kentucky	Gosser Ridge	2	Most buildings on a farm were swept away. Listed as a "questionable" F5 in the NCDC Tech Memo. Rated an F4 according to Grazulis and official records.	NCDC
May 24	1973	United States	Oklahoma	Union City	2	A carport was carried intact to the north while the rest of the house was destroyed with the foundation swept clean. A barn was destroyed and trees still standing were denuded, a flatbed truck rolled over, a car was torn apart with only the frame remaining nearby. A small frame house was also destroyed with its foundation clean.	NSSL
Apr 3	1974	United States	Tennessee	Lincoln County, Franklin County, Coffee County	11	1974 Super Outbreak – Intense tornado that caused unverifiable F5 damage when it leveled and swept away several "well constructed homes" in Franklin County. Destroyed roughly 46 homes and 90 barns in just that county alone. Developed from the same thunderstorm that produced the first F5 Tanner tornado. Previously rated F5 by NWS, but later downgraded to F4.	NWS, NWA
Jun 9	1984	Soviet Union (Russia)	Kostroma Oblast	Kostroma, Lyubim	0	1984 Soviet Union tornado outbreak – Officially rated F4, but survey mentions possible F5 damage. Trees were ripped from the ground and thrown long distances. A 350-tonne (350,000 kg) industrial crane was blown over.	Pending
May 31	1985	United States	Pennsylvania	Parker Dam State Park, Moshannon State Forest	0	1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak – May have been capable of producing F5 damage over rural areas.	NWS
Jan 7	1989	United States	Illinois	Allendale	0	Considered a more plausible candidate for an F5 rating than the "questionable" Oakfield tornado in 1996.	Grazulis
Apr 26	1991	United States	Oklahoma	Red Rock	0	April 26, 1991 tornado outbreak – Mobile Doppler radar used by storm chasers indicated wind speeds in the range of the F5 threshold, with winds up to 268 mph (431 km/h). Pavement and ground scouring occurred, and a large oil rig was toppled. Officially rated F4, but is mentioned by some sources as an F5 or possible F5.	Bluestein
Apr 26	1991	United States	Kansas	Arkansas City, Hackney, Winfield, Tisdale	1	According to an informal survey conducted by a group of storm chasers, one home was so obliterated that the National Weather Service survey likely missed it.	Grazulis
Jun 8	1995	United States	Texas	Pampa	0	Would have likely produced F5 damage had it struck residential areas. Grazulis considered the tornado a candidate for an F6 rating based on photogrammetric video analysis.	Grazulis
Jun 8	1995	United States	Texas	McLean, Kellerville	0	Project VORTEX assessed tornado to be F5. Intense pavement and ground scouring occurred, with only bare soil left in some areas.	VORTEX
Jun 8	1995	United States	Texas	Allison	0	A National Weather Service damage survey was not conducted due in part to the extensive damage and injuries from another tornado in Pampa. Four homes were destroyed and more than 800 head of livestock were killed. An NCDC report states that "all sighting reports would place this as an F5 tornado" with storm spotters calling it "one of the biggest and meanest appearing tornadoes they had ever seen." However, this tornado hit few man-made structures and a significant amount of time elapsed before damage could be examined, so it could not be rated higher than F4.	NWS, VORTEX
Apr 16	1998	United States	Tennessee	Hardin County, Wayne County	3	1998 Nashville tornado outbreak – Originally considered part of a very long-tracked F5 tornado but was later determined to have been the first in a series of three separate, violent tornadoes. Multiple homes were reduced to their foundations. Although officially rated an F4, a re-analysis conducted in 2013 by the NWS Office in Nashville noted that the damage in Wayne County may warrant EF5; however, no tornadoes are rated using the enhanced scale that occurred prior to February 2007.	NWS
May 30	1998	United States	South Dakota	Spencer	6	DOW recorded maximum wind speeds at 264 mph (425 km/h) at 160 ft above ground level, which the NWS classified at almost ground level. Such wind speeds would fall well into the EF5 range on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, though the maximum damage intensity observed in the town of Spencer was F4. The town's water tower was toppled to the ground, an apartment building was leveled, and many homes were completely destroyed, a few of which were swept away.	Wurman
May 11	1999	United States	Texas	Loyal Valley	1	Officially rated high-end F4, though one survey revealed potential F5 damage. Two homes were completely swept away, with debris scattered over great distances. Large pieces of a pickup truck were found 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) away from the residence where it originated, and a 720-foot-long (220 m) stretch of pavement was scoured from a road. Ground scouring occurred, and numerous mesquite trees were completely denuded and debarked. Numerous animals were also dismembered, skinned, and impaled. Had this tornado touched down in an urban area, its devastation likely would have rivaled that of the Bridge Creek–Moore or Jarrell tornado, each of which was rated as an F5.	Hecke
Apr 27	2011	United States	Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Holt, Hueytown, Concord, Pleasant Grove, McDonald Chapel, Birmingham, Fultondale	64	2011 Tuscaloosa–Birmingham tornado – Officially rated high-end EF4, though the final rating was a source of controversy, and one survey team rated some of the damage as EF5. Many homes, a large section of an apartment building, and a clubhouse were swept away, though these structures were either poorly anchored, lacked interior walls, or surrounded by contextual damage not consistent with an EF5 tornado. A manhole cover was removed from a drain and thrown into a ravine near the clubhouse. A 34-tonne (75,000 lb) railroad trestle support structure was thrown 100 ft (30 m) up a hill, and a 35.8-tonne (79,000 lb) coal car was thrown 391 ft (119 m) through the air.	NWS
May 24	2011	United States	Oklahoma	Chickasha, Blanchard, Newcastle	1	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 – Officially rated a high-end EF4; however, the survey conducted by NWS Norman mentions this tornado as being a "plausible EF5". Well-built homes with anchor bolts were swept away, pavement was scoured from roads and driveways, and vehicles were thrown up to 600 yd (550 m) away, some of which were torn into multiple pieces or stripped down to their frames. Trees were reduced to completely debarked stumps, and severe ground scouring occurred, with all grass and several inches of topsoil removed in some areas. A reinforced concrete dome home was severely damaged and cracked.	NWS
May 31	2013	United States	Oklahoma	El Reno	8	2013 El Reno tornado – Largest tornado on record at 2.6 miles (4.2 km) wide. Initially rated EF5 based solely on mobile Doppler radar measurements, which recorded winds over 302 miles per hour (486 km/h). However, the most significant structural damage was rated EF3, as the tornado did not strike any buildings when the EF5 winds were recorded. The rating was eventually downgraded to EF3 because of this, though the practicality of the downgrade has been disputed by some meteorologists.	NCEI, CSWR, Wurman
Apr 27	2014	United States	Arkansas	Mayflower, Vilonia	16	Tornado outbreak of April 27–30, 2014 – Officially rated high-end EF4, though the rating was a major source of controversy, and meteorologist/civil engineer Timothy P. Marshall noted that the rating assigned was "lower-bound", and also noted "the possibility that EF5 winds could have occurred" despite the structural flaws responsible for the EF4 rating. Numerous homes were swept completely away with only bare slabs left, including one that was well-bolted to its foundation, and extensive wind-rowing of debris occurred. Trees were completely debarked and denuded, shrubs were shredded and debarked, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and stripped down to their frames. In one instance, a well-built houses was swept away, but an EF5 rating was not assigned as it was just one house and it had been struck by debris from other buildings. A large 29,998-pound (13.607 t; 13,607 kg) metal fertilizer tank was found approximately 3⁄4 mi (1.2 km) away from where it originated. Extensive ground scouring occurred as well.	NWS, Marshall
May 24	2016	United States	Kansas	Dodge City	0	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 22–26, 2016 – During the initial stages of development, there was DOW data on this tornado. It intensified from 40 m/s (89 mph; 140 km/h) to 90 m/s (200 mph; 320 km/h) in a span of 21 seconds that lasted less than a minute at those velocities. This would have been enough to produce EF5 damage briefly, based on those velocities. As the tornado moved north into a housing addition just west of Dodge City, it showed multiple vortex characteristics and did EF2 Damage. One person was seriously hurt in a home that was heavily damaged.	NCEI, CSWR
May 25	2016	United States	Kansas	Solomon, Abilene, Chapman	0	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 22–26, 2016 – An anchor-bolted brick farm home was swept away and was ripped from its foundation so violently that part of the foundation was severely cracked, though the area surrounding the home was not swept completely clean. Vehicles and large pieces of farm machinery were thrown and mangled beyond recognition, and a section of metal railroad track was bent horizontally by the tornado. Officially rated EF4 with winds of 180 mph (290 km/h), though NWS Topeka damage surveyors later noted that based on the severity of the damage in rural areas, it "could have very well been" rated EF5 had it struck Chapman directly.	NWS

Possible F5/EF5 tornadoes with no official rating

Many other tornadoes have never been formally rated by an official government source but have nonetheless been described as F5/EF5 or equivalent, often by independent studies. Most of these tornadoes occurred prior to 1950, before tornadoes were rated according to standardized damage assessments, and their unofficial classifications as F5/EF5 or equivalent have been made in retrospect, largely on the basis of photographic analysis and eyewitness accounts. A few, such as the Tri-State Tornado of 1925, are widely accepted as F5/EF5 tornadoes, despite not being rated as such in official records.

  – Listed as an F5/EF5 on the 2000 NCDC tornado climatology memorandum
  – Rated or mentioned as a possible F5/EF5 by tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis
  – Rated or mentioned as a possible F5/EF5 by an international agency

Tornadoes with no official rating, but which may have been F5/EF5 or equivalent

Day	Year	Country	Subdivision	Location	Fatalities	Notes	Rated F5/EF5 by
Apr 24	1880	United States	Illinois	West Prairie, Sharpsburg	6	Many "well built" homes were leveled and farms vanished. Its victims, both people and cattle, were reportedly carried up to 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km). This is the earliest estimated F5 that can be verified in the U.S., according to Grazulis. (The 1953 Waco tornado is the earliest officially rated—see section.) The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 12	1881	United States	Missouri	Hopkins	2	Tornado outbreak of June 1881 – Two farms were completely swept away. Considered by Grazulis to have "probably" been an F5.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jul 15	1881	United States	Minnesota	Wellington Township, West Newton, New Ulm	20	1881 Minnesota tornado outbreak – Severe damage occurred in Renville County where five farms were completely swept away. According to Grazulis, this tornado was "probably" an F5.	Grazulis
Jun 17	1882	United States	Iowa	Rippey, Kelley, Grinnell, Malcom, Brooklyn	68	16 farms were blown away and the town of Grinnell was devastated, as well as the Grinnell College campus. Debris was carried 100 mi (160 km). Caused 68 fatalities according to Grazulis.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Aug 21	1883	United States	Minnesota	Rochester	37	1883 Rochester tornado – Numerous homes in Rochester were destroyed, some of which were oblitereted and swept away with the debris finely granulated. Trees were completely debarked, and grass and shrubbery was scoured from the ground. A large metal railroad bridge was completely destroyed and mangled. At least 10 farms outside the city were also completely leveled and swept away, with little debris recovered at some of them.	NWS, Grazulis
Apr 1	1884	United States	Indiana	Oakville	8	Among contemporary meteorologists, this was considered one of the most intense tornadoes observed up to that time. Parts of Oakville "vanished," with house debris scattered for miles.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 15	1892	United States	Minnesota	Easton, Minnesota Lake	12	1892 Southern Minnesota tornado – Entire farms were obliterated, and house timbers were embedded into the ground 3 mi (4.8 km) away from the foundations.	Grazulis
May 22	1893	United States	Wisconsin	Darlington, Willow Springs	3	Two farm complexes were completely swept away.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jul 6	1893	United States	Iowa	Pomeroy	71	Well-built homes were swept away in four counties with F5 damage in the town of Pomeroy. Grass was scoured from the ground, and a metal bridge was torn from its supports. A well pump and 40 ft (12 m) of piping were pulled out of the ground.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Sep 21	1894	United States	Iowa	Kossuth County	43	Five farms and a home were swept away, leaving little trace.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 1	1895	United States	Kansas	Sedgwick County, Harvey County	8	Farms "entirely vanished," with debris carried for miles.	NCDC, Grazulis
May 3	1895	United States	Iowa	Sioux County	9	Farms were swept away, with debris carried for miles.	NWS, Grazulis
May 15	1896	United States	Texas	Sherman	73	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896 – This was one of the most intense tornadoes of the 19th century according to Grazulis. "Extraordinary" damage occurred to farms and 20 homes that were completely obliterated and swept away. An iron-beam bridge was torn apart and scattered, with one of the beams deeply embedded into the ground. Trees were reduced to debarked stumps, and grass was scoured from lawns in town as well. Several headstones at a cemetery were shattered or thrown up to 250 yards through the air, and a trunk lid from Sherman was found 35 miles away. Reliable reports said that numerous bodies were carried hundreds of yards, and that multiple deaths occurred in 17 different families; seven deaths were in one family alone.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 17	1896	United States	Kansas, Nebraska	Seneca (KS), Oneida (KS), Falls City (NE)	25	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896 – An opera house was swept away, along with some farms. Entire farms were reportedly swept clean of debris, leaving the areas "bare as the prairie." Damage estimated at $400,000.	NWS, Grazulis
May 25	1896	United States	Michigan	Ortonville, Oakwood, Thomas, North Oxford, Whigville	47	Tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896 – Houses and farms were leveled and swept away, with debris carried up to 12 mi (19 km) away. Trees were completely debarked, with even small twigs stripped bare in some cases.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 18	1898	United States	Wisconsin	Marathon County	12	12 farms were flattened. Timber losses totaled 100,000,000 board feet (240,000 m3).	Grazulis
Jun 11	1899	United States	Nebraska, Iowa	Salix	5	This tornado impacted several farms, including one where a "fine new residence" was swept completely away.	NCDC
Jun 12	1899	United States	Wisconsin	New Richmond	117	1899 New Richmond tornado – This tornado devastated New Richmond, leveling or sweeping away many homes and businesses. A large section of the town was reduced to nothing but scattered debris and house foundations. The three-story brick Nicollet Hotel was completely leveled to the ground. Numerous trees were completely debarked and shorn of their branches. A 3,000-pound (1,400 kg) safe was carried a full block.	Grazulis
May 10	1905	United States	Oklahoma	Snyder	97	1905 Snyder tornado – The town of Snyder was devastated, with many structures swept away. A piano was found in a field 8 mi (13 km) outside town, and debris was carried 60 mi (97 km) away.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 5	1905	United States	Michigan	Colling, Shabbona	5	Three farms were "wiped out of existence" with only "bits of kindling" remaining on the foundations.	Grazulis
Jun 5	1906	United States	Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin	Houston County	4	A farm was completely leveled, and a child was reportedly carried 1⁄2 mi (0.80 km) away.	NCDC
Apr 23	1908	United States	Nebraska	Cuming County, Thurston County	3	1908 Dixie tornado outbreak – A well-built two-story home was swept away.	NCDC, Grazulis
May 12	1908	United States	Iowa	Fremont County, Page County	0	Five farms had all buildings swept away, homes were "absolutely reduced to kindling," and lumber was scattered for miles.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 5	1908	United States	Nebraska	Fillmore County	11	Farms vanished, with little left to indicate farmsteads ever existed at some locations.	NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 20	1912	United States	Oklahoma	Kingfisher County	2	April 20–22, 1912 tornado outbreak - Entire farms were swept away. Listed as an F5 by the NCDC Technical Memorandum.	NCDC
Apr 27	1912	United States	Oklahoma	Kiowa County, Canadian County	15	This tornado is only listed as an F5 by the NCDC Technical Memorandum, and is not listed at all by Grazulis or any other sources, and is therefore a possible typographical error in the memorandum.	NCDC
Jun 15	1912	United States	Missouri	Creighton	5	Two large homes were completely swept away.	Grazulis
Mar 23	1913	United States	Nebraska	Omaha	113	March 1913 tornado outbreak sequence – Photo analysis by Grazulis revealed possible F5 damage with many empty foundations throughout Omaha, though it is uncertain if this was a result of the tornado or cleanup efforts following the event. An F4 rating was assigned due to the uncertainty.	Grazulis
Jun 11	1915	United States	Kansas	Kiowa County	0	One entire farm was swept completely away.	NCDC, Grazulis
May 25	1917	United States	Kansas	Andale, Sedgwick	23	May–June 1917 tornado outbreak sequence – Many structures were swept away, and trees were debarked. The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 5	1917	United States	Kansas	Kiro, Elmont	9	The tornado hit only 8 mi (13 km) northwest of downtown Topeka. Homes were swept away. Rated F4 by Grazulis but listed as an F5 in the NCDC memorandum. In the damaged area, homes and farms were swept completely away. A schoolhouse was reduced to an empty stone foundation. Trees were debarked, and heavy farm machinery was carried for miles.	NCDC
May 21	1918	United States	Iowa	Crawford County, Greene County	6	At least two farms were swept away, and house foundations were left bare. Mattresses from the homes were transported 2 mi (3.2 km).	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
May 21	1918	United States	Iowa	Boone County, Story County	9	A large tornado completely swept away two entire farms. Mentioned as a possible F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Jun 22	1919	United States	Minnesota	Fergus Falls	59	1919 Fergus Falls tornado – This tornado produced extreme damage in Fergus Falls. A three-block-wide swath was leveled, with some homes swept away. Several summer homes were swept away into Lake Alice. A train station was swept away, railroad tracks were ripped from the ground, and a large three-story hotel was completely leveled. Numerous small trees were completely debarked.	NCDC, Grazulis
Mar 28	1920	United States	Indiana, Ohio	Jackson Township, West Liberty, Van Wert	17	1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak – Farms were leveled and swept away in Indiana and Ohio. Some homes had their floors dislodged and moved some distance. Mentioned as a possible F5 by Grazulis.	NWS, Grazulis
Jul 22	1920	Canada	Saskatchewan	Frobisher, Alameda	4	"Splendid homes" were swept away and "reduced to splinters."	Grazulis
Apr 15	1921	United States	Texas, Arkansas	Harrison County, Pike County, Hempstead County	62	This tornado family tracked for 112 mi (180 km), killing at least 59 people, and reached a peak width of 1.1 mi (1.8 km). Many homes were leveled, some of which were swept away and scattered across fields. A large concrete fireplace was shifted 3 ft (1.0 yd), and a vehicle was thrown 200 yd (600 ft) and partially buried into the soil. Tornado is not listed as an F5 by Grazulis but is listed on the NCDC memorandum.	NCDC
Mar 11	1923	United States	Tennessee	Pinson	20	An entire section of the town was swept away. Bodies or body parts were found up to 1 mi (1.6 km) away. This is the first of only two F5s to hit Tennessee, the other having struck Lawrence County on April 16, 1998.	NCDC, Grazulis
May 14	1923	United States	Texas	Big Spring	23	A large ranch home and farms were swept away.	Grazulis
Jun 24	1923	United States	North Dakota	Hettinger	8	Some ranch homes had possible F5 damage.	Grazulis
Sep 21	1924	United States	Wisconsin	Clark County, Taylor County	18	20 farms were destroyed, some of which were obliterated. An entire wall of a home was carried for 14 mi (23 km). Considered to be a probable F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
Mar 18	1925	United States	Missouri, Illinois, Indiana	Ellington (MO), Annapolis (MO), Biehle (MO), Gorham (IL), Murphysboro (IL), De Soto (IL), West Frankfort (IL), Parrish (IL), Griffin (IN), Owensville (IN), Princeton (IN)	695	Tri-State tornado outbreak – This was the deadliest and longest-tracked single tornado in U.S. history, producing the highest tornado-related death toll in a single U.S. city (234, at Murphysboro, Illinois) and the largest such toll in a U.S. school (33, at De Soto, Illinois). Thousands of structures were destroyed, with hundreds of homes swept away along the path, especially in Illinois and Indiana. The towns of Murphysboro, West Frankfort, Gorham, and Griffin were devastated, along with numerous other small towns and communities. Gorham and Griffin were destroyed entirely, with every single structure in Gorham leveled or swept away. Trees were debarked, debris was finely granulated, and deep ground scouring was noted in several areas as well. A Model T Ford was thrown a long distance and stripped, railroad tracks were ripped from the ground at multiple locations along the path, and a large multi-ton coal tipple was blown over and rolled. The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis, Fujita
Mar 18	1925	United States	Tennessee, Kentucky	Buck Lodge (TN), Keytown (TN), Oak Grove (TN), Angeltown (TN), Liberty (TN), Holland (KY), Beaumont (KY)	41	Tri-State tornado outbreak – Believed to have been a tornado family; regarded as one of the most powerful tornadoes to affect Middle Tennessee. Bodies were mangled and hurled hundreds of yards, homes were obliterated, and ground scouring occurred. May have reached F5 intensity.	NWS
Jun 3	1925	United States	Iowa	Pottawattamie County, Harrison County	0	19 buildings on two farms reportedly "vanished". This tornado took nearly the same path as the next one, below. It is described as a "possible" F5.	Grazulis
Jun 3	1925	United States	Iowa	Pottawattamie County, Harrison County	1	Parts of two farms and some homes swept away, but they may have been hit by both tornadoes, thus the uncertainty of a possible F5.	Grazulis
Apr 12	1927	United States	Texas	Rocksprings	74	This massive tornado swept away or leveled 235 out of 247 structures, more than 90% of the town, killing or injuring a third of the population. Many of the structures were reduced to bare foundations, leaving "no trace of lumber or contents." Acres of ground were "swept bare" in some parts of town.	NWS, Grazulis
May 7	1927	United States	Kansas	Barber County, McPherson County	10	Many farms were destroyed and some were swept completely away. The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jul 16	1927	United States	Kansas	Dunlap, Lebo	3	Two farms incurred possible F5-level damage.	Grazulis
Sep 13	1928	United States	Nebraska	Cuming County, Thurston County, Dakota County	5	Three rural schools houses were completely obliterated, at least one was "swept entirely away". Possible F5 damage, according to Grazulis, was in an area where two farms "were completely leveled". 66 homes and at least another 450 buildings were damaged or destroyed. The tornado caused $1 million in damages.	Grazulis
Apr 10	1929	United States	Arkansas	Sneed	23	This tornado is considered the only F5 on record in Arkansas. It destroyed the Sneed community, reduced homes to "splinters", and made a "clean sweep" of the area. Huge trees were snapped or torn apart.	NWS, Grazulis
May 22	1933	United States	Nebraska	Tryon	8	Two farms were swept away.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jul 1	1935	Canada	Saskatchewan	Benson	1	Several structures were leveled.	Grazulis
Apr 5	1936	United States	Mississippi	Tupelo	216	1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak – This tornado leveled and swept away many large and well-constructed houses, killing entire families. A concrete war monument was toppled and broken, with nearby brick gate posts snapped off at the base. Granulated structural debris was scattered and wind-rowed for miles east of the city. Pine needles were reportedly driven into tree trunks as well.	NWS, Grazulis
Apr 26	1938	United States	Nebraska	Oshkosh	3	A school disintegrated, and two farms were swept away. Dead bodies were carried 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) away.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 10	1938	United States	Texas	Clyde	14	All nine homes in a small subdivision "literally vanished", with bodies carried up to .50 mi (0.80 km) away. A car engine, found nearby, was carried for a similar distance. 19 railroad cars were "tossed like toys."	Grazulis
Apr 14	1939	United States	Oklahoma, Kansas	Woodward County, Barber County	7	Homes and entire farms were swept away, and cars were carried for hundreds of yards.	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 18	1939	United States	Minnesota	Hennepin County, Anoka County	9	Homes were swept away in Champlin and Anoka. A car was tossed 300 yd (900 ft) and smashed to pieces. As the tornado crossed the Mississippi River, witnesses reported that so much water was sucked into the air that the riverbed was briefly exposed, and that the flow of water was stopped until the tornado reached the opposite bank. Tornado is not listed as an F5 by Grazulis, but appears on the NCDC memorandum.	NCDC
Apr 7	1940	United States	Louisiana	Amite	3	This tornado produced possible F5 damage to a "large new home," killing the couple inside.	Grazulis
Mar 16	1942	United States	Illinois	Peoria County, Marshall County	8	March 1942 tornado outbreak – Many homes were swept away in the town of Lacon, Illinois, and a rural farmhouse sustained F5-level damage.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 29	1942	United States	Kansas	Oberlin	15	Three farms were obliterated, with all buildings and several inches of topsoil swept away. Debris from homes was granulated into splinters "no larger than match sticks."	NCDC, Grazulis
Jun 17	1944	United States	South Dakota, Minnesota	Wilmot	8	Farms were swept away with no visible debris left.	Grazulis
Jun 22	1944	United States	Wisconsin, Illinois	Grant County, Stephenson County	9	This long-tracked tornado or tornado family destroyed many homes in both Wisconsin and Illinois. Hundreds of cattle were killed. Rated F4 by Grazulis.	NCDC
Apr 12	1945	United States	Oklahoma	Antlers	69	600 buildings were destroyed, and some areas were swept clean of all debris. The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 9	1947	United States	Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas	Glazier (TX), Higgins (TX), Woodward (OK)	181	1947 Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes – Several towns were partially or totally destroyed. Most structures in Glazier were swept away, where shrubbery was debarked, ground scouring occurred, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards. In Higgins, a 4+1⁄2-tonne (4,500 kg) lathe was ripped from its anchors and broken in half. A 20-tonne (20,000 kg) boiler tank in Woodward was thrown a block and a half. The F5 rating is widely accepted.	NWS, NCDC, Grazulis
Apr 29	1947	United States	Missouri	Worth	14	Most of Worth was destroyed. Half of a brick building remained standing in the village. Considered to be a possible F5 by Grazulis.	Grazulis
May 31	1947	United States	Oklahoma	Leedey	6	This tornado reportedly left more intense damage than the previous event did in Woodward. Many structures were swept away, leaving no debris or grass in some areas. Yards at some residences were stripped of their lawns and all vegetation, and several inches of topsoil were removed as well. The F5 rating is widely accepted, though the tornado was very slow-moving, which may have exacerbated the level of destruction to some extent.	Grazulis
May 21	1949	United States	Illinois, Indiana	Palestine	4	A restaurant was leveled, and cars in the parking lot were thrown up to 300 yd (900 ft) away from where they originated. Rated F4 by Grazulis.	NCDC
Jan 1	1970	Australia	New South Wales	Bulahdelah	0	Bulahdelah tornado – Never officially rated, but is thought to have reached F4 or F5 intensity. Left a damage path 21 km (13 mi) long and 1–1.6 km (0.62–0.99 mi) wide through the Bulahdelah State Forest. According to reports, the tornado threw a tractor weighing 2 tonnes (4,400 lb) 100 m (330 ft) through the air, depositing it upside-down. It is estimated that the tornado destroyed over one million trees.	Pending
Jan 10	1973	Argentina	Santa Fe Province	San Justo	54	San Justo tornado – Never officially rated, but is widely considered to have been an F5. Masonry homes reportedly vanished with little or no trace, and vehicles were thrown hundreds of meters from where they originated and mangled beyond recognition. Large factories were completely leveled and grass was scoured from the ground. A vehicle motor was found embedded into a poured concrete wall, and a tractor was thrown 500 metres (1,600 ft) into a wooded area.	Grazulis

See also

• Tornado intensity and damage
• List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of tornadoes striking downtown areas
• Tornado myths

Sources

• Cook, A. R.; Schaefer, J. T. (August 2008). Written at Norman, Oklahoma. "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. 136 (8). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 3135. Bibcode:2008MWRv..136.3121C. doi:10.1175/2007MWR2171.1.
• Edwards, Roger; LaDue, James G.; Ferree, John T.; et al. (May 2013). "Tornado intensity estimation: past, present, and future". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 94 (5). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 642. Bibcode:2013BAMS...94..641E. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1.
• Frankenfield, H. C. (June 1917). "The Tornadoes and Windstorms of May 25–June 6, 1917". Monthly Weather Review. 45 (6). Washington, D.C.: United States Weather Bureau: 291–298. Bibcode:1917MWRv...45..291F. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1917)45<291:TTAWOM>2.0.CO;2.
• Fujita, T. Theodore (February 1971). Proposed Characterization of Tornadoes and Hurricanes by Area and Intensity. Texas Tech University Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library (Technical report). Satellite and Mesometeorology Research Project Research Paper No. 91. hdl:10605/261875.
• Fujita, T. Theodore (1973). "Tornadoes Around the World". Weatherwise. Vol. 26, no. 2. pp. 56–83. doi:10.1080/00431672.1973.9931633.
• Fujita, T. T.; Stiegler, D. J. (eds.). "Tornado Outbreak in the Upper Midwest on June 7-8, 1984". Storm Data. 26 (6). Asheville, North Carolina: United States Department of Commerce: 9–17.
• Fujita, T. T.; Stiegler, D. J. (eds.). "Tornado Outbreak in the United States and Canada on May 31, 1985". Storm Data. 27 (5). Asheville, North Carolina: United States Department of Commerce: 5–16.
• Golden, Joseph H.; Purcell, Daniel (1978). "Life Cycle of the Union City, Oklahoma Tornado and Comparison with Waterspouts". Monthly Weather Review. 106 (1): 3–11. Bibcode:1978MWRv..106....3G. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1978)106<0003:LCOTUC>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1520-0493.
• Gordon, John D.; Boyd, Bobby; Rose, Mark A.; Wright, Jason B. (2000). "The Forgotten F5: The Lawrence County Supercell During the Middle Tennessee Tornado Outbreak of 16 April 1998" (PDF). National Weather Digest. 24 (4). National Weather Association: 3–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2012. The authors sent a detailed letter to the SPC recommending the two tornadoes from 1974, and the 1952 tornado mentioned above, be downgraded to F4. The SPC agreed to all three of these changes. The SPC database now reflects the conclusions of Professor Fujita's map of 1974, and Grazulis 1952 tornado report (1993). ... The authors suggested that the three former F5 tornadoes in Tennessee should be reclassified as F4. These changes have been adopted, making the 16 April 1998 Lawrence County tornado the only documented F5 in the history of Tennessee.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (May 1984). Violent Tornado Climatography, 1880–1982. OSTI (Technical report). NUREG. Washington, D.C.: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. OSTI 7099491. CR-3670.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (November 1990). Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989. Vol. 2. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-02-3.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001a). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001b). F5-F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
• Hickmon, W. C. (April 1921). "Tornadoes of April 15, 1921, in Arkansas and Texas". Monthly Weather Review. 49 (4). Little Rock, Arkansas: United States Weather Bureau: 194–196. Bibcode:1921MWRv...49..194H. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1921)49<194:TOAIAA>2.0.CO;2.
• Hovde, M. R. (June 1921). "The Champlin-Anoka, Minnesota Tornado". Monthly Weather Review. 67 (6). Minneapolis, Minnesota: United States Weather Bureau: 176–178. Bibcode:1939MWRv...67..176H. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1939)67<176:tcmt>2.0.co;2.
• Jarboe, J. H. (1927). "The Rocksprings, Texas, Tornado, April 12, 1927". Monthly Weather Review. 55 (4). San Antonio, Texas: United States Weather Bureau: 182–183. Bibcode:1927MWRv...55..182J. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1927)55<182:TRTTA>2.0.CO;2.
• Johns, Robert H.; D. W. Burgess; C. A. Doswell III; et al. (2013). Roger Edwards (ed.). "The 1925 Tri-State Tornado Damage Path and Associated Storm System" (PDF). e-Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology. 8 (2): 1–33. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
• Mehta, Kishor C.; McDonald, James R.; Mirror, Joseph E.; Sanger, Albert J. (October 1971). Response of Structural Systems to the Lubbock Storm (PDF) (Technical report). Storm Research Report. Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University. 03, The Lubbock Storm. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
• Lott, Neal; McCown, Sam; Ross, Tom (August 2000) [1999]. 1998-1999 Tornadoes and a Long-Term U.S. Tornado Climatology (PDF) (Technical report). National Climatic Data Center Technical Report. Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 99-02. Retrieved May 1, 2024.{{cite tech report}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• McDonald, James R. (January 2001). "T. Theodore Fujita: His Contribution to Tornado Knowledge through Damage Documentation and the Fujita Scale". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 82 (1). American Meteorological Society: 63–72. Bibcode:2001BAMS...82...63M. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(2001)000<0063:TTFHCT>2.3.CO;2.
• Mitchell, Charles L. (April 1920). "Tornadoes of March 28, in Northeastern Illinois". Monthly Weather Review. 28 (4). Chicago, Illinois: United States Weather Bureau: 191–196. Bibcode:1920MWRv...48..191M. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1920)48<191b:TOMINI>2.0.CO;2.
• Ostuno, E. J. (25 June 2008). Written at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Roger Edwards (ed.). "A Case Study in Forensic Meteorology: Investigating the 3 April 1956 Tornadoes in Western Lower Michigan" (PDF). e-Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology. 3 (1). Norman, Oklahoma: 1–33. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
• Snyder, Jeffrey C.; Bluestein, Howard B. (1 August 2014). "Some Considerations for the Use of High-Resolution Mobile Radar Data in Tornado Intensity Determination". Weather and Forecasting. 29 (4): 799–827. Bibcode:2014WtFor..29..799S. doi:10.1175/WAF-D-14-00026.1.
• Wakimoto, R. M.; Murphey, H. V.; Dowell, D. C.; Bluestein, H. B. (2003). "The Kellerville Tornado during VORTEX: Damage Survey and Doppler Radar Analyses". Monthly Weather Review. 131 (10). American Meteorological Society: 2197–2221. Bibcode:2003MWRv..131.2197W. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(2003)131<2197:TKTDVD>2.0.CO;2.
• Wurman, Joshua; Alexander, Curtis R. (January 2005). "The 30 May 1998 Spencer, South Dakota, Storm. Part II: Comparison of Observed Damage and Radar-Derived Winds in the Tornadoes". Monthly Weather Review. 133 (1): 97–119. Bibcode:2005MWRv..133...97W. doi:10.1175/MWR-2856.1.

External links

• F5 Tornadoes in the U.S. since 1950 (SPC/NOAA)
• U.S. F5 tornadoes - Tornado History Project
• The Tornado Project
• Climatological Risk of Strong and Violent Tornadoes in the United States (Paper 9.4, Second Conference on Environmental Applications)
• Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Climatology (NSSL)
• Fujita Scale
• Extreme Weather at the CBC.ca Archives
• List of strong tornadoes from 1879 to 2000

Category:F5 tornadoes Category:Tornado-related lists