The Xenia, Ohio tornado of 1974 never actually had its wind speed measured as we did not have the necessary technology at the time. However, based on damage the tornado was rated F5, the highest category on the Fujita scale, which would put estimated winds in the range of 261-318 mph.
Even considering the fact that this scale overestimated wind speed, that would still put the Xenia tornado's wind speed at well over 200 mph.
The Xenia Tornado that struck Ohio in 1974 was classified as an F5 tornado, the most powerful on the Fujita scale. It caused widespread devastation, destroying thousands of homes and killing 33 people. Wind speeds were estimated to be between 261 and 318 miles per hour.
The largest tornado ever recorded was the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of May 31, 2013. This tornado was 2.6 miles wide. Doppler radar measured a wind gust in the tornado at 296 mph, the second highest wind speed ever recorded in a tornado.
An EF5 tornado has winds in excess of 200 mph.
Tornadoes typically form in severe thunderstorms when there is a significant change in wind speed and direction, known as wind shear. Wind speeds in a tornado can range from 65 mph to over 200 mph, with faster winds associated with more violent tornadoes.
There is no solidly set minimum wind speed for a tornado. The Enhanced Fujita scale starts an EF0 at 65 mph, but tornadoes have occurred with estimated winds lower than that. Tornadoes are defined by the amnner in which the air moves rather than the wind speed. A tornado is a rotating vortex of strong wind that onnects to both the ground and the cloud base.
The Xenia Tornado that struck Ohio in 1974 was classified as an F5 tornado, the most powerful on the Fujita scale. It caused widespread devastation, destroying thousands of homes and killing 33 people. Wind speeds were estimated to be between 261 and 318 miles per hour.
It is uncertain which tornado was the strongest, as most tornadoes do not have their winds measured. The highest recorded wind speed was in the Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 3, 1999. Another possible candidate was the Xenia, Ohio tornado of April 3, 1974. See the links for pictures and video of those tornadoes.
The largest tornado ever recorded was the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado of May 31, 2013. This tornado was 2.6 miles wide. Doppler radar measured a wind gust in the tornado at 296 mph, the second highest wind speed ever recorded in a tornado.
Scientists usually use the severity of the damage a tornado causes to estimate its wind speed.
The Xenia, Ohio tornado of 1974 was produced by a supercell thunderstorm that was part of one of the largest (until recently, the largest) single-day tornado outbreak on record. The outbreak as a whole was triggered when an intense low pressure system pulled very warm, moist air off the Gulf of Mexico and pushed a mass of cool, dry air into it. The result was a series of violent thunderstorms. Wind shear throughout the region set the thunderstorms rotating, allowing them to start producing tornadoes, including the one which struck Xenia.
The speed of the winds in a tornado is called the tornado's wind speed. It is usually measured using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which categorizes tornadoes based on the estimated wind speed. The wind speed can vary greatly depending on the tornado's intensity, with stronger tornadoes having faster wind speeds.
Wind speed in a tornado is usually estimated using the damage caused by the tornado's winds and the Fujita scale, which categorizes tornadoes based on their intensity. Meteorologists may also use Doppler radar data to estimate wind speeds within a tornado. Direct measurement of wind speed in a tornado is rare due to the dangerous and unpredictable nature of tornadoes.
Scientists use the severity of damage that a tornado causes to estimate wind speed.
Not directly. But changes in wind speed and direction in altitude, called wind shear, plays an important role in tornado formation.
A tornado with estimated winds of 175 mph is an EF4.
The wind speed for Waco Tornado was over 250 mph winds.
A tornado will produce a very rapid increase in wind speed and similarly rapid changes in wind direction. This is because the wind in a tornado spins around a central axis at high speed. Wind direction shifts as different parts of the tornado pass over.