This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F4, EF4, IF4, or an equivalent rating. These scales – the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale, the International Fujita scale, and the TORRO tornado intensity scale – attempt to estimate the intensity of a tornado by classifying the damage caused to natural features and man-made structures in the tornado's path.
Tornadoes are among the most violent known meteorological phenomena. Each year, more than 2,000 tornadoes are recorded worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in North America and Europe.[1][2] In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum wind speeds within tornadic storms based on the damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. F4 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between 207 mph (333 km/h) and 260 mph (420 km/h).[3][a]
Following two particularly devastating tornadoes in 1997 and 1999, engineers questioned the reliability of the Fujita scale. Ultimately, a new scale was devised that took into account 28 different damage indicators; this became known as the Enhanced Fujita scale.[4] With building design and structural integrity taken more into account, winds in an EF4 tornado were estimated to between 166 mph (267 km/h) and 200 mph (320 km/h).[5] The Enhanced Fujita scale is used predominantly in North America. Most of Europe, on the other hand, uses the TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale), which ranks tornado intensity between T0 and T11; F4/EF4 tornadoes are approximately equivalent to T8 to T9 on the T-Scale. Tornadoes rated IF4 on the International Fujita scale are also included on this list.
London tornado of 1091 — A violent tornado destroyed 600 houses, damaged the Church of St Mary-le-bow, and killed two people. While this tornado did not receive a rating on a tornado intensity scale, a publication in the Journal of Meteorology by M. W. Roe described the tornado as a “violent whirlwind”, so it is believed to have been equivalent to an F4 tornado.[6][7]
An F4 tornado that destroyed part of the town. The written account of this tornado was done by Dr. Alfred Wegener, which is in the CLIMDAT archive located at Leipzig University.[8][9]
This F4 tornado nearly destroyed a village, leaving only two houses that remained untouched. This may have been twin tornadoes instead of just one tornado.[8][10]
This violent F4 tornado caused a 125 kilometres (78 mi) path of destruction, reaching a maximum width of 2,500 metres (2,700 yd). Numerous houses and churches were obliterated and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted.[8]
A high end F4/low end F5 past through Welbourn, Wellingore, Navenby and Boothby Graffoe in Lincolnshire. Killing 3 people. Rated T8/9 by TORRO which is equivalent to F4 on the Fujita scale. Slight possibility of being an F5.[11]
The tornado destroyed an entire barn, "crushed" six strong oak half-timbered homes, destroyed turf homes, scoured an oat field, and picked up the water in a pond. "A stone house had all of its wooden roof tiles ripped off and the planks reportedly broken like glass". "Deep ground scouring" occurred in numerous places as well.[8]
This short-lived, extremely fast-moving F4/T9 tornado destroyed the towns of Lind, Süchteln, Anrath, and Krefeld. According to the European Severe Storms Laboratory, this tornado had a path of 20 km (12.43 mi) and only was on the ground for 4 minutes, meaning the forward moving speed of this tornado was about 300.00 kilometres per hour (186.41 mph). Hail up to 8 cm (3.15 in) occurred with this tornado.[12]
Regina Cyclone – An F4 tornado that completely leveled several structures and caused others to explode as the pressure inside the structures rose when the tornado passed overhead. The tornado caused a 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) path of destruction and had an approximate width of 150 metres (490 ft).[16][17] With 28 deaths, it remains Canada's deadliest tornado.
An F4 tornado that impacted Southern Denmark along a path of 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi). Several barns were destroyed near Hostrup and gables on homes were destroyed. A home’s walls were cracked in this area as well. A pump that was “deep into the ground” was ripped up and thrown 10 metres (11 yd). In the area of the pump, a “literal” two-story brick farmhouse was “erased to the ground”, which suggested F4 level intensity.[8]
1931 Lublin tornado — This tornado is officially rated F4; however, the Polish Weather Service estimated winds at 246 to 324 mph (396 to 521 km/h), potentially ranking it as an F5. Numerous structures were "razed to the ground".[8]
The F4 tornado collapsed numerous houses and other structures. The tornado had an estimated width of 400 metres (440 yd) and an estimated windspeed of 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph).[19]
1946 Windsor–Tecumseh tornado – Officially rated F4; however, one home had a portion of its concrete block foundation swept away, indicating borderline F5 damage. The tornado knocked out power to most of Tecumseh as well. This tornado is not officially rated by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States as NWS did not begin to rate tornadoes until 1950, so the damage done in the United States remains unrated.[20][21]
Possible F4/EF4 tornadoes with no official rating or lower rating
Because the distinctions between tornadoes ratings are often ambiguous, the official ratings of numerous other tornadoes formally rated below F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent have been disputed, with certain government sources or independent studies contradicting the official record. This list includes tornadoes rated F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent by government meteorologists, non-government tornado experts (i.e. Thomas P. Grazulis or Ted Fujita) or meteorological research institutions (i.e. European Severe Storms Laboratory) that rated a tornado differently than the official government organization in charge of the rating. Published academic papers or presentations at academically held meteorological conferences that rate tornadoes as F4/EF4/IF4 or present some evidence to support damage or winds in that category are also ways a tornado can be added to this list.
Five farms were destroyed. At one site "not a stick of timber" remained in place. Witnesses initially mistook the tornado for smoke from a distant fire.
March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak — Several plantations were destroyed, with 11 deaths on and near one of them. As many as 15 people may have died.
March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak — Nearly every building in Camak was damaged or destroyed. Dozens of farms were destroyed. As many as 42 people many have died.
March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak — One person, presumed dead was still missing when the damage survey was conducted. Witnesses mistook the tornado for a large fire.
A total of 25 farm homes and many farm buildings were damaged or destroyed. Three children, reported missing, may also have died. A dead steer was carried a mile (1.6 km).
Homes were destroyed as people were killed along a 55-mile (89 km) track. One person, carried by the tornado, survived by wrapping herself in a blanket. This event was likely a tornado family.
Thirty-four homes in Irving were destroyed. A cow survived being carried half a mile (0.8 km). A 100-ton iron bridge was "twisted into a shapeless ruin." May have been a tornado family.
A house was destroyed while a nearby chicken house was untouched. Four members of one family, caught in the open, were killed. May have been a tornado family.
Grazulis gave F4 ratings to 70 tornadoes that occurred in the United States in the 1880s, and noted one other tornado that might have caused F4 damage.
Possible F4/EF4 tornadoes with no official rating or lower rating
Tornado outbreak of April 1880 – The worst damage was north of Fordland. This tornado was on a parallel track to the Marshfield tornado, the next entry on this list, which was on the ground at the same time.
This event was a complex tornado family rather than a single tornado. Five entire farms were swept away and 47 homes were destroyed in New Ulm. Grazulis applied a conservative F4 rating, but notes that it probably reached F5 intensity.
All of Beauregard and a large portion of Wesson were destroyed. The combined death toll of this and the Americus, Georgia tornado (listed below) may have been more than 100.
Fifty-eight homes in Racine were destroyed and two farm homes were swept away. An eyewitness described the tornado's multiple vortex structure as it moved over Lake Michigan.
Enigma tornado outbreak – Thirty-six homes, many of them brick, were destroyed. Some foundations were reportedly blown away. Five other people may have died.
At least one home was blown away. This event was captured in what is widely reported as the first-ever photograph of a tornado. However, another tornado was photographed 4 months earlier near Garnett, Kansas.
1886 St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado outbreak – About 70 farms houses were damaged or destroyed; some were completely swept off their foundations. A train was derailed, with the front cars thrown southward and the rear cars thrown northward while a car in the middle remained on the tracks.
1886 St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado outbreak – Homes were swept away in St. Cloud, where 24 people died. Another 37 were killed in Sauk Rapids. Eleven died at a wedding party near Rice. The bottom of the Mississippi River was reportedly exposed.
1886 St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado outbreak – Grazulis assigned an F3 rating but states that farms were "reportedly swept away in F4 or F5 fashion," but that there was not enough information to assign an F4 rating. One of the injured may later have died.
Farm houses were destroyed in both states. Most of the deaths were in farm houses that were leveled near Celina. There were reports of a large rafter carried 4 miles (6 km).
Tornado outbreak of March 27, 1890 – About 100 homes were damaged or destroyed in Metropolis, Illinois where water blown from the Ohio River reported reached rooftops. There were five deaths each in two families. Many deaths could not be confirmed and the death toll may have exceeded 31. The track crossed the Kentucky/Illinois state line twice and may have started in Missouri. It was likely a tornado family.
Ten homes were leveled, but residents were able to take shelter in time because the large funnel was highly visible. There were rumors that a traveler was killed.
Grazulis assigned a conservative F3 rating, but states that damage could probably be rated F4. Two homes were destroyed and trees were debarked. One rumored death could not be confirmed.
1891 Missouri tornado – Homes were leveled, trees were debarked, and water was reportedly emptied from wells. There may have been a 9-mile (14 km) break in the path.
All but three homes were destroyed in Odessadale and about 200 buildings were damaged or destroyed on the north side of Greenville, where six people were killed.
At least 30 lightly-built homes were swept away with 11 deaths in one home, 6 in another, and 4 in another. The tornado was reportedly over 1.25 miles (2.01 km) wide. It was the first of several intense tornadoes to strike Moore. One death from this event may have been from another tornado, and another death may have been from hail.
Every building in Cisco was severely damage or destroyed, leaving 1,500 people with no shelter of any kind. Only two buildings were left standing in downtown. An entire fully loaded freight train was thrown 80–120 feet (25–35 m). As many as 26 people may have died.
Thirty homes were severely damaged or destroyed, including six farm houses that were swept away. Six of nine people died in one family, with some bodies dismembered.
Four homes and a bridge were swept away and every home west of the courthouse in Emory was damaged. Witnesses described the funnel as "forked at the bottom," indicating this was probably a multiple-vortex tornado.
This and the next two entries were part of a complex outbreak, and the number and exact sequence of individual tornadoes are unclear. Grazulis assigned an F5 rating to an earlier member of the sequence. Dozens of farms were badly damaged or destroyed, with at least 10 completely leveled.
A tornado hit the southeast Missouri counties of Carter, Wayne, and Butler, causing 18 deaths and 200 injuries along its 50-mile path. It virtually leveled the town of Dongola in Bollinger County and caused considerable damage on the south edge of Zalma.
A tornado formed to the west-southwest of Thurman and passed to the south of the town. A barn in the tornado's path was destroyed while 18 people were inside. 10 people were killed, 9 of which were children. Another person died four months later of injuries sustained from the tornado. This tornado remains the deadliest tornado in Colorado state history.[24]
A possible F4 tornado hit Alexander and Pulaski counties in Illinois. It moved northeast near Cache, passing across the north side of Mounds along its 13-mile path. Three homes were leveled in total, killing 1 and severely injuring 9.
Swirling utility poles marked the devastating path of the natural event. Heavy trunks had been swirled hundreds of meters away. Considerable damage occurred on a chicken farm and the beets were torn out of a field, meaning it was "probably F3 or F4 tornado?"
This is event is officially documented as a single F3 tornado, but photographs showed that there were actually two slow-moving tornadoes from one storm. Grazulis rated the larger one that hit Corn F4. It destroyed 25 homes and 22 farm buildings, damaged 80 additional homes and buildings, and killed 26 heads of hogs and cattle and 1,650 chickens. Objects picked up by the tornado was carried as far as 90 miles (140 km) away. Ample warning prior to the storm striking the towns resulted in no casualties from this tornado. This tornado was the first in the United States to be caught on film and was also one of the most photographed tornadoes in Oklahoma at the time. Grazulis rated the second tornado, which destroyed several barns before dissipating west of Corn, F2 and noted that it may have been anticyclonic.
Tornado outbreak sequence of June 25–27, 1951 – The tornado is officially rated F3. Grazulis also rated the tornado F3, but noted that it caused "probable F4 damage." Two entire farms were "wiped out" near Heman.
The tornado is officially listed as a long-tracked F3 tornado, but it is listed by Grazulis as family of four tornadoes, the second of which he rated F4 based on the damage done north of Newtown.
The tornado is officially listed as a long-tracked F3 tornado, but it is listed by Grazulis as family of four tornadoes, the fourth of which he rated F4 based on the damage done near Fairview. Official records do not bring the tornado into Randolph County, where the damage reportedly took place.
1953 Waco tornado outbreak – The tornado is officially listed as an F3 and Grazulis also rated it F3. However, he noted that F4 damage may have occurred outside of Hebron where two of 13 homes were described as "leveled." The top of Hebron High School was also torn off.
1953 Waco tornado outbreak – This is officially listed as a long-tracked F2 tornado, but was more likely a family of tornadoes according to Grazulis, who rated the tornado F4 based on a swath of severe damage from east of New Richmond to near Amery. In all, 113 homes were damaged or destroyed and 215 other structures were affected by this tornado according to reports from local staff of the American Red Cross, although damage outside of the most severe damage in Amery was in sparsely populated areas and not well documented.
Official records list the storm as an F2 tornado, but it was rated F4 by Grazulis. At least two farm homes were leveled and swept away. The track of the tornado is incorrectly listed in the NCEI as only being in Taylor County, Iowa.
Tornado outbreak sequence of June 20–23, 1957 – Three farms were destroyed with near-F5 damage to one home. Officially, this storm is listed as part of the track of the F5 tornado that hit Fargo, North Dakota, but a study by Fujita found the track to be a five-member tornado family, of which the Fargo tornado was the third and this one was the fourth.
Produced possible F5 damage over farmland north of Martin according to Grazulis, who rated the tornado as an F4. A church "disappeared" and one home "seemed to evaporate into the air." This tornado is listed as only F3 in the official database.
A six-room farmhouse was leveled, its debris strewn for acres. This tornado is listed as only F3 in the official database, but was rated F4 by Grazulis.[25]
1979 Cheyenne tornado – F4 damage occurred to the Buffalo Ridge subdivision and Shannon Heights Trailer Park of Cheyenne, with a 220 m (720 ft) wide swath of F4 damage being reported at the latter, as the tornado neared the end of its life.
A house was lifted off its foundation and disintegrated, and steel rods at a construction site were bent down to the ground. Video analysis indicated wind speeds of 93 m/s (208 mph; 335 km/h) at 120 metres (390 ft) above ground level.[28] Fujita's analysis would make this the first record of an F4 tornado in Japan.[29]
A long-tracked tornado which was officially rated high-end F3/T7 hit multiple villages in eastern Germany. Four buildings were levelled completely in Kahla, and surveyors noted possible T8 damage in some locations, which equals F4 damage.
Tornado outbreak of May 26–31, 2013 – A large, very slow-moving, and erratic wedge tornado remained over mostly farm lands. Numerous outbuildings were destroyed, farm equipment was damaged, and power poles and trees were downed. It was initially rated EF4 based on DOW wind measurements showing that tornado had winds in the EF4-EF5 range, but was downgraded since none of the damage indicators were over EF3. However, it was acknowledged that the tornado was likely at least EF4 intensity at some point in its life.
Multiple-vortex wedge tornado. Metal buildings, outbuildings, and trees sustained major damage or were destroyed. Power poles were broken and a few homes were damaged as well. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, video and radar evidence suggest that this was likely a violent (EF4 or stronger) tornado over a sparsely populated area.[30]
Tornado outbreak of April 13–15, 2019 – This EF2 tornado tracked through wooded areas and downed numerous trees. A few homes sustained roof damage as well. In a later analysis published in the Monthly Weather Review, it was noted that, "this tornado produced forest devastation and electrical infrastructure damage up to at least EF4 intensity" with winds up to 182 mph.
Anthony W. Lyza, Barrett T. Goudeau, Kevin R. Knupp
^Fujita, T. Theodore (1992). The Mystery of Severe Storms. Chicago: Wind Research Laboratory, Department of Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago. pp. 55–58.
