EF5 damage is total devastation.
Well constructed houses are wiped clean off their foundations and can be carried or thrown great distances. Virtually nothing can withstand the full force of an EF5. Even concrete structures are heavily damaged.
No, the maximum rating is EF5. The primary factor in rating a tornado is damage, and since EF5 damage is total destruction there is no room for a higher category. Also, there is no upper bound for EF5 winds; any tornado with estimated winds over 200 mph is an EF5.
The last F5 or EF5 tornado in Iowa was on May 25, 2008 when a large tornado caused EF5 damage in the towns of Parkersburg and New Hartford, Iowa.
Potentially an EF5 tornado can destroy thousands of houses. However the measure of a tornado's intensity is not based on the quantity of damage but by the severity of damage. For an EF5 tornado the general indicator is well built houses that are completely removed from their foundations and blown downwind. Some F5/EF5 tornadoes have torn across rural areas, destroying only a few homes. But some of those that were destroyed were completely obliterated.
No. First of all, the ratings of tornadoes are based on damage, not size. EF1 is the second weakest category of tornado (there is also an EF0). These tornadoes generally do moderate damage. EF5 is the strongest category. Such tornadoes cause catastrophic damage. Although not always, an EF5 tornado is typically much larger than an EF1.
Meteorologists and engineers examine the damage done by a tornado a rate if from EF0 to EF5 based on how severe the damage is. EF0 and EF1 (light to moderate damage) tornadoes are considered weak. EF2 and EF3 tornadoes are classified as strong. EF4 and EF5 tornadoes are classified as violent.
The Enhanced Fujita scale (EF0 to EF5) is used to rate tornadoes based on the severity of the damage they cause.
Yes. Tennessee had an F5 tornado on March 23, 1923 and another on April 16, 1998. Also of note is an EF5 tornado that moved into Tennessee on April 27, 2011 but by that time had weakened below EF5 strength. All the EF5 damage from that tornado took place in Alabama.
A rating of EF5 is reserved for the tornadoes that cause the greatest degree of damage.
To date the have been no F5 or EF5 tornadoes in Georgia, though it has had a few F4 and EF4 tornadoes. However, one tornado is worth noting. The Rainsville, Alabama EF5 tornado of April 27, 2011 moved into Georgia where it caused some damage, however the only EF5 damage occurred in Alabama. Damage in Georgia was no higher than EF1 as the tornado was near the end of its life cycle when it crossed the state line. As such, it does not count as an EF5 for Georgia.
There is no set upper limit for an EF5 tornado. Any tornado with estimated winds in excess of 200 mph is considered an EF5.
The worst degree of damage that a tornado can cause is EF5 damage. In such cases well-built houses are wipec clean off their foundations and blown away. Even larger structures such as churches and small apartment buildings may be swept away. Steel reinforced structures may be completely destroyed. Fortunately, such damage only occurs along a realtively small portion of a tornado's track, which the exception of one tornado which carved an EF5 damage swath half a mile wide.
The worst type of damage a tornado can cause is EF5 damage. An EF5 tornado completely annihilates even the strongest homes, wiping them clean off their foundations. The few trees that remain standing are stripped of their bark with only stubs of the largest branches remaining. Asphalt is torn from roads. Reinforced concrete structures are heavily damaged. Cars are thrown great distances and left as pieces of twisted metal.