It depends. A tornado can cause property damage in a matter of seconds, but in a large, slow moving tornado, structures can be exposed to damging winds for several minutes. A very violent tornado can completely obliterate a well built house in under 3 seconds.
Its called the enhanced fujita scale...it measures from an EF0 to an EF5 how fast the tornado was spinning. The wind speed is determined by examining damage.
Estimated winds for an F2 tornado on the original Fujita scale are 113 to 157 mph. It was later found that this estimate was not quite right for the damage inflicted by an F2 tornado and so was refined to a range of 111 to 135 mph for an EF2 tornado.
In some cases scientists are able to measure the winds either remotely using doppler radar or, less often, getting a specialized inside the tornado. In most cases, however, the wind speed is estimated based on the severity of the damage the tornado causes.
No wind measurements were taken from the Wichita Falls tornado, so the actual wind speed is not known. The tornado was rated F4 based on the severity of the damage it caused, which suggests peak wind speeds in the range of 207-260 mph. However, recent evidence suggests that the original Fujita scale used to rate this tornado may overestimate the wind speeds needed to inflict F3 and higher damage, so winds may not have been quite so fast.
A tornado is not a solid thing that you can touch, it is a vortex of very fast wind.
Most damage in a tornado is caused by the extremely fast winds.
The winds in a tornado are very fast carry a tremendous amount of force that can damage or destroy buildings and other objects. Objects picked up by those winds can become high speed projectiles.
If it's enough to be classified as a tornado, it will damage your house. Generally, winds in excess of 60 mph are considered sufficient to cause visible damage, though at this point it will be superficial unless a tree falls on ths house.
The damage that a fire can cause will vary depending on how fast it spreads. This may include causalities, fatalities, destruction of property, pollution of the environment and so much more.
The wind speed in the eye is pretty low, apparently below what will cause damage, though no actual numbers appear to be available.
In terms of how fast a tornado is moving, the tornado is tracked on radar. The forward speed is calculated based on how far it moves in a given period of time. The wind speed of a tornado is estimated based on the severity of the damage it causes.
No. That is a myth. The fast-moving winds and flying debris of a tornado are what destroy houses. The pressure difference produced by a tornado is not enough to cause significant damage, and is equalized pretty quickly anyway.
The issue is not the amount of wind, but how the wind moves. A tornado consists of a violently rotating column of air produced by a thunderstorm. As a general rule the winds must be strong enough to cause damage, but there is no hard and fast lower limit.
Winds inside a tornado can range from 65mph to over 300 mph. Most tornadoes have winds less than 110 mph. The ones that cause major damage are usually in the strongest 5% with estimated winds over 135 mph.
Tornado, hurricane, tsunami, asteroid, etc.
On the original Fujita scale winds in the range of 158-206 mph were believed to cause F3 level damage. However, this estimate has since been found to be inaccurate. An the more accurate Enhanced Fujita scale winds for and EF3 tornado are estimated at 136-165 mph.
Its called the enhanced fujita scale...it measures from an EF0 to an EF5 how fast the tornado was spinning. The wind speed is determined by examining damage.