EF5

Enhanced Fujita Scale · >200 mph (estimated)

Every EF5 Tornado Ever Recorded

Name: EF5 Tornadoes, United States (1950–present)
Creator: NOAA Storm Prediction Center
License: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/

The EF5 rating — the highest on the Enhanced Fujita Scale — is reserved for tornadoes that produce incredible damage: well-built homes swept from their foundations, steel-reinforced structures deformed or destroyed, and concrete foundations scoured clean. Since the modern tornado record began in 1950, the United States has documented 59 tornadoes rated F5 or EF5. These are the most violent windstorms on the planet, and fewer than one occurs per year on average globally.

Total EF5

since 1950

Total deaths

1,347

all events

Total injuries

12,956

all events

Top state

8 events

First recorded

1953

Most recent

2013

Wind estimate

>200 mph (estimated)

Avg deaths / event

22.8

What EF5 Damage Looks Like

EF5-level damage is defined by more than wind speed. National Weather Service damage surveys look for specific signatures: well-anchored, well-built homes lifted completely from their foundations and carried away; reinforced concrete structures collapsed or partially demolished; steel-framed buildings buckled or pulled apart; large trees debarked and debranked with bark removed from smaller branches; pavement scoured from roads; and vehicles thrown hundreds of yards. Critically, EF5 requires a specific damage indicator and degree of damage from the NWS EF scale ratings table — the rating is not assigned based on estimated wind speed alone but on documented structural behavior.

History of EF5 Tornadoes

The first documented F5 tornado in the modern record was the 1953 Waco, Texas tornado. Of the 59 confirmed F5/EF5 tornadoes, Oklahoma leads with eight, followed by Alabama with seven, Iowa with six, Texas with six, and Kansas with six. Seasonally, May and April account for the majority, though F5/EF5 tornadoes have occurred in every month from January through December. The 2011 Super Outbreak (April 25–28, 2011) produced four EF5 tornadoes in a single day across Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee — the most EF5s in a 24-hour period in the satellite-era record. The 2013 Moore, Oklahoma EF5 was the last officially-rated EF5 for twelve years. The 2025 Enderlin, North Dakota EF5 — rated on June 20, 2025 — ended that twelve-year gap and sparked renewed public interest in what some researchers had begun calling "the EF5 drought." Research into the drought has generally concluded that it reflected changes in damage surveying methodology rather than a real change in tornado intensity. The EF scale, introduced in 2007, tightened rating criteria for residential structures, particularly around anchor-bolt spacing and roof-to-wall connections — making it mechanically harder for a tornado to earn an EF5 rating on residential damage alone.

States with Most EF5 Tornadoes

8 events

7 events

6 events

4 events

3 events

2 events

#10

2 events

F-Scale to EF-Scale Note

The Enhanced Fujita Scale replaced the original Fujita (F) Scale in February 2007. Tornadoes rated F5 before the transition are considered equivalent to EF5 for statistical purposes. Wind-speed estimates associated with each rating differ significantly between the two scales: the original Fujita F5 threshold was 261–318 mph, while the EF5 threshold is >200 mph. The change reflected improved understanding of the relationship between wind speed and structural damage — the original Fujita estimates were revised downward by engineers who found that actual winds needed to produce a given damage signature were lower than Fujita had originally calculated.

Complete List of EF5 Tornadoes

#	Date	State	Deaths	Injuries	Path	Width
1	May 22, 2011	MO	158	1,150	21.6 mi	1,600 yd
2	June 8, 1953	MI	116	844	18.9 mi	833 yd
3	May 11, 1953	TX	114	597	20.9 mi	583 yd
4	May 25, 1955	OK	80	273	56.4 mi	1,320 yd
5	April 27, 2011	AL	72	145	132.0 mi	2,200 yd
6	March 3, 1966	MS	58	518	202.5 mi	900 yd
7	February 21, 1971	LA	47	510	109.2 mi	500 yd
8	May 20, 1957	KS	44	207	69.4 mi	440 yd
9	December 5, 1953	MS	38	270	9.0 mi	500 yd
10	May 3, 1999	OK	36	583	37.0 mi	1,430 yd
11	April 3, 1974	OH	36	1,150	31.3 mi	533 yd
12	April 8, 1998	AL	32	259	30.3 mi	1,320 yd
13	April 3, 1974	KY	31	270	32.0 mi	440 yd
14	August 28, 1990	IL	29	350	16.4 mi	600 yd
15	April 3, 1974	AL	28	267	52.0 mi	500 yd
16	April 3, 1974	AL	28	272	79.5 mi	500 yd
17	May 27, 1997	TX	27	12	5.1 mi	650 yd
18	May 11, 1970	TX	26	500	8.4 mi	1,333 yd
19	April 27, 2011	AL	25	0	36.6 mi	1,320 yd
20	May 20, 2013	OK	24	212	13.8 mi	1,900 yd
21	April 27, 2011	MS	23	137	37.1 mi	1,320 yd
22	April 4, 1977	AL	22	130	14.7 mi	550 yd
23	June 4, 1958	WI	21	74	33.7 mi	880 yd
24	May 25, 1955	OK	20	280	28.4 mi	500 yd
25	May 31, 1985	OH	18	310	47.0 mi	450 yd
26	April 26, 1991	KS	17	225	46.0 mi	440 yd
27	April 3, 1956	MI	17	292	58.8 mi	400 yd
28	April 3, 1974	AL	16	190	83.3 mi	500 yd
29	June 8, 1966	KS	16	450	21.1 mi	880 yd
30	May 15, 1968	IA	13	462	62.1 mi	600 yd
31	May 4, 2007	KS	11	63	28.8 mi	3,000 yd
32	June 20, 1957	ND	10	103	52.4 mi	500 yd
33	May 24, 2011	OK	9	181	63.1 mi	1,760 yd
34	May 25, 2008	IA	9	70	41.0 mi	2,100 yd
35	June 7, 1984	WI	9	200	36.0 mi	450 yd
36	June 13, 1968	MN	9	150	9.1 mi	150 yd
37	April 23, 1968	OH	7	93	34.0 mi	400 yd
38	April 3, 1964	TX	7	111	4.7 mi	500 yd
39	April 3, 1974	IN	6	86	68.0 mi	10 yd
40	October 14, 1966	IA	6	172	9.7 mi	1,000 yd
41	May 15, 1968	IA	5	156	13.1 mi	500 yd
42	May 5, 1960	OK	5	81	71.8 mi	800 yd
43	May 5, 1964	NE	4	50	79.7 mi	880 yd
44	April 27, 2011	MS	3	6	28.3 mi	900 yd
45	April 16, 1998	TN	3	36	69.4 mi	1,760 yd
46	April 3, 1974	IN	3	210	20.8 mi	533 yd
47	March 26, 1976	OK	2	64	11.9 mi	440 yd
48	May 29, 1953	ND	2	20	14.8 mi	600 yd
49	June 16, 1992	MN	1	35	16.0 mi	280 yd
50	March 13, 1990	KS	1	60	48.0 mi	1,320 yd
51	March 13, 1990	KS	1	0	22.0 mi	1,320 yd
52	December 18, 1957	IL	1	6	5.4 mi	200 yd
53	June 27, 1953	IA	1	2	0.1 mi	100 yd
54	July 18, 1996	WI	0	12	13.3 mi	400 yd
55	April 2, 1982	OK	0	29	53.0 mi	500 yd
56	June 13, 1976	IA	0	9	21.3 mi	880 yd
57	April 19, 1976	TX	0	11	10.5 mi	440 yd
58	May 6, 1973	TX	0	0	10.6 mi	100 yd
59	May 8, 1965	SD	0	1	30.1 mi	1,760 yd

Sorted by fatalities descending. Showing 59 EF5 tornadoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many EF5 tornadoes have there been?

There have been 59 tornadoes rated F5 or EF5 in the United States since 1950. No F5/EF5 tornadoes have been recorded in Alaska or Hawaii. The most recent is the Enderlin, North Dakota EF5 on June 20, 2025, which ended a twelve-year gap since the 2013 Moore, Oklahoma EF5.

What state has the most EF5 tornadoes?

Oklahoma leads with eight F5/EF5 tornadoes since 1950. Alabama is second with seven, followed by Iowa, Texas, and Kansas with six each. Oklahoma's EF5s include the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore and 2013 Moore tornadoes. Alabama's include multiple events from the 2011 Super Outbreak.

Why did EF5 tornadoes stop occurring from 2013 to 2025?

The twelve-year gap was most likely a methodological artifact rather than a meteorological shift. The Enhanced Fujita Scale, introduced in 2007, made it structurally more difficult to achieve an EF5 rating on residential damage alone. Several tornadoes during this period, including 2020 Bassfield, MS and 2021 Quad-State, were considered by some researchers to have had EF5-level intensity but were officially rated EF4 under the stricter criteria.

Are EF5 tornadoes extinct?

No. The 2025 Enderlin, North Dakota EF5 ended the twelve-year "drought." The perceived extinction was a combination of a truly unusual low-end period and stricter EF-scale rating criteria. Climate-scale research does not support the hypothesis that violent tornadoes are becoming less frequent.

How fast are EF5 tornado winds?

The EF5 rating threshold is estimated winds greater than 200 mph based on the damage survey. The strongest wind speed ever measured in a tornado was 301 mph (±20 mph) by mobile Doppler radar during the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore F5 tornado. Direct measurements of tornado wind speeds at the surface remain rare, and the EF scale is based on damage observations rather than measured winds.

Other Ratings

Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center 1950–present tornado database. Pre-2007 ratings are on the original Fujita Scale; 2007 and later are on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Both are displayed here using the modern EF label for consistency.