Rate Tornado Damage

  • By Lexi Krock
  • Posted 03.30.04
  • NOVA

To judge a tornado's force after it strikes, the U.S. National Weather Service uses a rating system it adopted in 1973 called the Fujita Scale. Devised by meteorologist Theodore Fujita in 1970, the F-scale enables experts to estimate a tornado's maximum wind speed in relation to the single most destructive thing it did. In this interactive, use the F-scale to examine and rate the destruction caused by several recent tornadoes.

Launch Interactive Printable Version

Use the Fujita Scale of tornado intensity to assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.

Credits

Photos

(Newcastle, Bridge Creek, Oklahoma City, Nashville)
© Tim Marshall
(Pierce City, Arlington)
© Reuters/Corbis
(Oklahoma City F4)
© Corbis Sygma
(Lakeshore)
© WICHITA EAGLE BEACON/CORBIS SYGMA

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