Fujita Tornado Damage Scale
Developed by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita at the University of Chicago in 1971
||Estimated Wind Speeds
||< 73 mph
Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged.
Peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving cars blown off roads.
Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.
Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.
Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated.
Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yards); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.
Note: The current Fujita Scale will be retired in February, 2007 in favor of an enhanced Fujita Scale system. More information about the Enhanced F-Scale can be found at this Storm Prediction Center web page.
Note: F-scale winds should not be taken literally. The precise wind speeds used in the scale are estimates only and have never been scientifically verified. Different wind speeds may cause similar-looking damage from place to place and even building to building. A thorough engineering analysis would be needed to verify actual wind speeds.