EF-2 tornados are categorized<\/a> by “considerable damage,” which can tear roofs off stick-built homes, completely destroy mobile homes, and uproot or snap large trees. \u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: How the National Weather Service determines if a tornado occurred<\/a><\/p>\n The weather agency said other damage locations were still being assessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Two deaths has been tied to the storm, and multiple injuries have been reported, with more than 20 families displaced in the region, according to local authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Enhanced Fujita or\u00a0EF Scale\u00a0<\/a>is the system meteorologists use to estimate tornado strength by examining the damage it leaves behind. \u00a0In 2007, the enhanced scale scale replaced the original Fujita Scale<\/a> developed by Dr. Ted Fujita<\/a> in 1971. \u00a0According to the National Weather Service<\/a>, the new scale is more accurate in terms of how winds impact newer structures.<\/p>\n
Measuring tornado winds at the ground level is notoriously difficult. \u00a0Instead, meteorologists look at the damage, using on or more of\u00a0<\/a>28 key indicators<\/a> to determine how strong the tornado likely was when it hit. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Following a tornado, teams from the National Weather Service survey different types of buildings and vegetation, then compare what they see to degrees of damage. There are eight degrees of damage, which range from minor to total destruction. Based on that analysis, meteorologists estimate the tornado\u2019s three-second wind gusts, which represent high intensity bursts of wind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The EF Scale ranks tornadoes from EF0 to EF5, with higher numbers indicating stronger winds and more destructive damage.<\/p>\n EF-0 (65\u201385 mph): Minor damage, such as broken branches or small roof damage.EF-1 (86\u2013110 mph): Moderate damage, including peeled roofs and overturned mobile homes.EF-2 (111\u2013135 mph): Significant damage, with roofs torn off well-built homes and large trees snapped.EF-3 (136\u2013165 mph): Severe damage, including destroyed walls and overturned trains or vehicles.EF-4 (166\u2013200 mph): Devastating damage, with well-constructed homes leveled.EF-5 (200+ mph): Incredible damage, where strong buildings can be swept completely off their foundations. <\/p>\n
If you see reports of a tornado shortly after a storm, the EF rating may not be available immediately. That\u2019s because teams must conduct a damage survey, sometimes covering miles of destruction. They look at multiple structures along the path before assigning a final rating.<\/p>\n Meteorologists use surveys to better understand tornadic behavior, which can help improve future forecasts and warnings. The information is often shared in public safety reports and insurance claims and the reports can even impact building codes. Ultimately, the ratings are intended to better prepare the public for future storms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The National Weather Service has confirmed at least one tornado in North Texas following severe storms Saturday. Other…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-267884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHow is a tornado’s strength determined? <\/p>\n
\nHow the EF Scale Works <\/p>\n
\nEF ratings are not direct wind measurements <\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/d51fafdb-4277-41bd-87ee-64e30699404c_1140x641.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nTornadoes rated EF4\u2013EF5 are considered violent <\/p>\n
\nRatings matter <\/p>\n