Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale Explained

A woman salvages what she can from what remains of her house on May 28, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri. The tornado that struck Joplin was rated F5. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Fujita scale classifies
tornadoes by damage and by wind intensity. Only about 1 percent of tornadoes are
F5, with wind speeds 261 mph or above.

Category Damage Wind
Speeds

F0 light 40–72 mph
F1 moderate 73–112 mph
F2 significant
113–157 mph
F3 severe 158–206 mph
F4 devastating 207–260 mph
F5
incredible 261–318 mph

A enhanced way of measuring tornadoes uses 28
different types of damage to structures and trees.

It ranges from EF0 to
EF5.