F5 Tornado - Fujita Scale

Learn more about f5 tornadoes using the below resources. You many use any of this information on your website as long as you link back to the original source. If you have any questions or notice any factual errors please contact us.

• F5 Tornado Facts - Get some basic facts on F5 tornadoes.
• Notable F5 Tornadoes - Some notable F5 torandoes.
• F5 Tornado Pictures - View pictures of f5 tornado funnels.

F5 Tornado Facts

Below are some basic F5 Tornado facts...

• An F5 is the highest intensity rating on the now retired Fujita Scale.
• The F5 rating was replaced by EF5 under the new Enhanced Fujita Scale.
• A tornado rated an F5 had winds great than 261 MPH.
• The damage from a F5 tornado is incredible, automobiles become flying missles that can be thrown over 110 yards. Trees will be compeltely debarked and strong framed houses will be completely severed from their foundation.
• Out of the 2,000 tornadoes that occur annually an F5 tornado only occurs about once a year.
• The most common states to get hit by an F5 tornado since 1950 are Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Texas and Iowa.

Notable F5 Tornadoes

• The first undisputed F5 tornado occurred on June 29th, 1764 in Woldegk, Germany.
• The deadliest F5 tornado in United States occurred on March 18th, 1925 and killed 695 in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri. This infamous F5 tornado is called the Tri-State Tornado.
• The 1974 Super Outbreak produced 7 F5 tornadoes.
• The 1896 St. Louis-East St. Louis F5 torando holds the most damage record at $2.9 billion (1997 USD).

F5 Tornado Damage Example

F5 Tornado Pictures

Below are funnel pictures of some F5 tornadoes going back as far as 1957. Tornadoes after 2007 are rated on the enhanched fujita scale. With the new scale, an F5 would now be rated an EF5.

• Fargo Tornado - 06/20/1957
• Topkea Kansas Tornado - 06/08/1966
• Tracy Tornado - 06/13/1968
• Xenia Tornado - 04/03/1974
• Chandler Lake Wilson Tornado - 06/16/1992
• Oakfield Tornado - 07/18/1997
• Bridge Creek-Moore Tornado - 05/03/1999

The Fargo tornado occured on June 20th, 1957 in Fargo, North Dakota and lasted an hour. It killed 10 people and caused $25.9 million in damage (1957 USD).

The Topkea Kansas tornado occured on June 8th, 1966 in Topkea, Kansas and lasted about 34 minutes. It killed 17 people and caused >$200 million in damage (1966 USD).

The Tracy tornado occured on June 13th, 1968 in Tracy, Minnesota. It killed 9 people and caused $43 million in damage (2006 USD).

The Xenia tornado occured on March 3rd, 1974 in Xenia, Ohio. It killed 33 people and caused $471 million in damage (2013 USD).

The Chandler Lake Wilson tornado occured on June 16th, 1992 in Chandler, Minnesota and last over an hour. It killed 1 person and caused $50 million in damage (1992 USD?).

The Oakfield tornado occured on July 18th, 1996 in Oakfield, Wisconsin. No one was killed 9 and it caused $40 million in damage (1996 USD).

The Bridge Creek-Moore tornado occured on May 3rd, 1999 around the Oklahoma City area and lasted over an hour. It killed 36 people and caused $50 million in damage (1992 USD).