Tornado Awareness
Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour.
Click the Images for more information about tornado safety.
What Could Be Expected?
EF0 Gale Tornado
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65-85 MPH Winds
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Minor Damage
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Peels surface off some roofs; some damage to gutters or siding; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
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Confirmed tornadoes with no reported damage (i.e., those that remain in open fields) are always rated EF0
EF1 Moderate Tornado
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86-110 MPH Winds
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Moderate Damage
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Roofs severely stripped; mobile homes overturned or badly damaged; loss of exterior doors; windows and other glass broken.
EF2 Significant Tornado
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111-135 MPH Winds
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Considerable Damage
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Roofs torn off well-constructed houses; foundations of frame homes shifted; mobile homes completely destroyed; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.
EF3 Severe Tornado
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136-165 MPH Winds
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Severe Damage
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Entires stories of well- constructed houses destroyed; severe damage to large buildings such as shopping malls; trains overturned; trees debarked; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown; strucutres with weak foundations blown away some distance.
EF4 Devestating Tornado
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166-200 MPH Winds
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Devestating Damage
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Well- constructed houses and whole frame houses completely leveled; cars thrown and small missiles generated
EF5 Torndao
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Greater than 200 MPH Winds
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Extreme Damage
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Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; steel-reinforced concrete structure badly damaged; high-rise buildings have significant structural deformation.
