NOVA Home Find out what's coming up on air Listing of previous NOVA Web sites NOVA's history Subscribe to the NOVA bulletin Lesson plans and more for teachers NOVA RSS feeds Tell us what you think Program transcripts Buy NOVA videos or DVDs Watch NOVA programs online Answers to frequently asked questions

Rate Tornado Damage


Hunt for the Supertwister homepage

Rate Tornado Damage 1
Enlarge this image

 

F2
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 113-157 mph
Newcastle, Oklahoma

May 3, 1999: A tornado completely removed this wood-frame home's roof but left its outer and inner walls standing. Most trees in the storm's path were toppled.



Rate Tornado Damage 2
Enlarge this image

 

F4
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 207-260 mph
Bridge Creek, Oklahoma

May 3, 1999: The tornado leveled this house but left the debris more or less within the house's footprint, hence the F4 rating instead of F5.



Rate Tornado Damage 3
Enlarge this image

 

F1
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 73-112 mph
Near Pierce City, Missouri

May 5, 2003: F1 winds dug up these shallow-rooted trees and scattered them like matchsticks.



Rate Tornado Damage 4
Enlarge this image

 

F2
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 113-157 mph
Arlington, Texas

March 29, 2000: The house on the left with its roof still largely intact would receive an F1 rating. The house on the right depicts a classic F2 level of damage: its roof is largely gone but its walls remain standing.



Rate Tornado Damage 5
Enlarge this image

 

F4
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 207-260 mph
Moore, Oklahoma

May 3, 1999: This tornado left virtually nothing standing in any house on the block, though the debris is concentrated enough that an F5 rating would be too high.



Rate Tornado Damage 6
Enlarge this image

 

F3
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 158-206 mph
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

May 8, 2003: From lower right to upper right moving clockwise around the cul-de-sac, the damage to these houses would receive the following ratings: F0, F2, F3, F2, F1. The overall rating for this damage would thus be F3.



Rate Tornado Damage 7
Enlarge this image

 

F5
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 261-318 mph
Bridge Creek, Oklahoma

May 3, 1999: An extremely intense tornado leveled these houses, leaving the foundation of the house in the middle background swept clean.



Rate Tornado Damage 8
Enlarge this image

 

F2
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 113-157 mph
Nashville, Tennessee

April 16, 1998: All of the houses except for one escaped this tornado with only F0-level damage. But the F2-level damage to the roofless house makes the overall rating an F2.



Rate Tornado Damage 9
Enlarge this image

 

F2
Corresponding tornado wind speed: 113-157 mph
Lakeshore, Kansas

May 4, 1999: This mobile home park received extreme damage, but the tornado that hit it would not have caused as much damage to sturdier homes.



Back to top




Hunt for the Supertwister
Tornado Country

Tornado Country
How is it that the U.S. gets up to three quarters of all tornadoes?

Forecasting Then and Now

Forecasting
Then and Now

With this remarkable story, see how far tornado warning has come since 1928.

Tracking Twisters

Tracking Twisters
Can new weather radar networks spot tornadoes earlier and thereby save lives?

Shelter From the Storm

Shelter From
the Storm

Damage expert Tim Marshall explains why he fears ever graver twister disasters.

Rate Tornado Damage

Rate Tornado Damage
Assess the level of destruction left in the wake of actual tornadoes.



Send Feedback Image Credits
   
NOVA Home Find out what's coming up on air Listing of previous NOVA Web sites NOVA's history Subscribe to the NOVA bulletin Lesson plans and more for teachers NOVA RSS feeds Tell us what you think Program transcripts Buy NOVA videos or DVDs Watch NOVA programs online Answers to frequently asked questions