Estimated wind speed90 m/s
1.3 tenthsRifle bullets
2.57Commuter trains
8 thousandthsEarth escape velocities
≥200 mph / ≥89 m/s; EF5 threshold on Enhanced Fujita scale
Photo by Raychel Sanner on Unsplash
EF5 Tornado
A rotating column of wind that erases everything in its path/Events & Phenomena
An EF5 tornado sits at the top of the Enhanced Fujita scale with estimated wind speeds exceeding 200 mph (90 m/s). These extraordinarily rare events account for less than 0.1% of all tornadoes but cause a disproportionate share of fatalities and destruction. The 2011 Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado had a path nearly a mile wide and killed 158 people. Inside the funnel, wind speeds can vary wildly within meters, creating bizarre damage patterns where one house is obliterated while its neighbor survives.
Measurements
Typical path length40,000 m
260 trillionDiamond bond lengths
200,000Cucumber lengths
3.2 hundredthsCalifornia lengths
~40 km average for violent tornadoes; some exceed 100 km
Maximum path width1,600 m
346Toyota Corollas
1.1 tenthsStrait of Gibraltar widths
~1 mile; the 2013 El Reno tornado reached 4.2 km wide
Typical duration1,800 s
12Popcorn bags
3.3 tenthsSoccer matches
1.5Halftime shows
Strong tornadoes often last 20-60 minutes on the ground
Forward travel speed18 m/s
36Shopping carts
4.5Running chickens
3.9 tenthsMLB fastballs
~65 km/h typical forward motion; can vary widely
Central pressure drop10,000 Pa
100 billionOuter space vacuums
9.9 hundredthsStandard atmospheres
~100 hPa drop from ambient; measured in extreme cases