Western Illinois – The National Weather Service is using a new scale to measure tornado wind speeds and damage.
The new EF - or Enhanced Fujita scale - is based on the Fujita scale that was used for several decades. An EF-0 rating will be given to the weakest tornadoes and an EF-5 to the most powerful twisters.
Donna Dubberke of the NWS thinks the new scale will provide better quality information and a more accurate picture of how powerful a tornado was. Dubberke says the old scale was based on just a few different structure types, such as mobile homes and houses, whereas the new scale takes into account 28 different types of structures.
The scale determines the wind speeds in a tornado based on the extent of damage it caused. The revised scale was implemented in February.
Added information:
*Dubberke is the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS bureau in the Quad Cities. She talks about the new EF scale in an interview that you can listen to by clicking on the audio button.
*The rating assigned to a tornado cannot be given while the storm is occuring. The rating is determined after the storm has passed and the NWS can assess the damage caused by it.
*The Fujita scale was developed in 1971 by Tetsuya Fujita of the University of Chicago. The revised scale was developed over a multi-year period by researchers, meteorologists, and civil engineers.
*The first tornado given an EF-5 rating flattened Greensburg, KS on May 4.