The International Fujita scale (abbreviated as IF-Scale) rates the
intensity of tornadoes
Tornado intensity can be measured by ''in situ'' or remote sensing measurements, but since these are impractical for wide-scale use, intensity is usually inferred by proxies, such as damage. The Fujita scale, Enhanced Fujita scale, and the Inte ...
and other wind events based on the severity of the damage they cause.
It is used by the
European Severe Storms Laboratory
The European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) is a scientific organisation that conducts research on severe convective storms, tornadoes, intense precipitation events, and avalanches across Europe and the Mediterranean. It operates the widely con ...
(ESSL) and is being worked on by various other organizations including
Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) and
State Meteorological Agency (AEMET). The scale is intended to be analogous to the
Fujita Fujita (written: , or ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*, Japanese handball player
*, Japanese long-distance runner
*Aya Fujita (born 1987), Japanese shogi player
*Emi Fujita (born 1963), Japanese singer
*, Japanes ...
and
Enhanced Fujita scales, while being more applicable internationally by accounting for factors such as differences in building codes.
The International Fujita scale was drafted in 2018.
International Fujita scale parameters
The 12 categories for the International Fujita scale are listed below, in order of increasing intensity. Although the wind speeds and photographic damage examples are updated, which are more or less still accurate. However, for the actual IF-scale in practice, damage indicators (the type of structure which has been damaged) are predominantly used in determining the tornado intensity. The IF-scale steps are defined by a central value and an error. The errors have been estimated to be 30% of the central value, resulting in overlapping speed ranges. The distances between the central values of the steps have been so chosen that the upper bound exceeds the central value of the next step, ensuring a balance between the resolution of the scale and the expected errors. Since ESSL required that the steps be consistent with the original Fujita scale, they introduced steps with – and + suffixes indicating steps one third higher or lower than the central value of the original scale, e.g. F1- equals “F2 - 1⁄3F2” and F2+ equals “F2 + 1⁄3F2”. Above F2, such a subdivision was not introduced and only full steps are used.
See also
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List of tornadoes rated on the International Fujita scale
This is a list of tornadoes that have been rated officially or unofficially on the International Fujita scale (IF-scale). The International Fujita scale was drafted in 2018 by the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) along with multiple Euro ...
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Beaufort scale
The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.
History
The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...
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Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale
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Severe weather terminology (United States)
This article describes severe weather terminology used by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States. The NWS, a government agency operating as an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the United ...
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TORRO scale
The TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale) is a scale measuring tornado intensity between T0 and T11. It was proposed by Terence Meaden of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO), a meteorological organisation in the United Kingdo ...
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Tornado intensity and damage
Tornado intensity can be measured by ''in situ'' or remote sensing measurements, but since these are impractical for wide-scale use, intensity is usually inferred by proxies, such as damage. The Fujita scale, Enhanced Fujita scale, and the Inte ...
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Enhanced Fujita scale
The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia.
The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...
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Wind engineering
Wind engineering is a subset of mechanical engineering, structural engineering, meteorology, and applied physics that analyzes the effects of wind in the natural and the built environment and studies the possible damage, inconvenience or benefits w ...
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Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred around the globe.
# ''Exact death and injury counts are not possible; especially for large events and events before 1955.''
# ''Prior to 1950 in ...
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List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F5, EF5, T10-T11, IF5, or an equivalent rating, the highest possible ratings on the various tornado intensity scales. These scales – the Fujita scale, the Enhance ...
References
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Hazard scales
Wind
Tornado
Scales in meteorology