Editing Tornado (section)

== Tornado rating scales ==
{{See also|Research history of tornadoes}}
There are several scales for rating the strength of tornadoes. The [[Fujita scale]] rates tornadoes by damage caused and has been replaced in some countries by the updated [[Enhanced Fujita Scale]]. An F0 or EF0 tornado, the weakest category, damages trees, but not substantial structures. An [[List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes|F5 or EF5]] tornado, the strongest category, rips buildings off their foundations and can deform large [[skyscraper]]s. The similar [[TORRO scale]] ranges from T0 for extremely weak tornadoes to T11 for the most powerful known tornadoes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.torro.org.uk/TORRO/ECSS_Slide_Show/2004%20SPAIN%20ECSS%20Post-FINAL%20slide%20show.html |title=Wind Scales: Beaufort, T&nbsp;– Scale, and Fujita's Scale |last=Meaden|first=Terrance |publisher=Tornado and Storm Research Organisation |year=2004 |access-date=2009-09-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430211910/http://www.torro.org.uk/TORRO/ECSS_Slide_Show/2004%20SPAIN%20ECSS%20Post-FINAL%20slide%20show.html |archive-date=2010-04-30 }}</ref> The [[International Fujita scale]] is also used to rate the [[intensity of tornadoes]] and other wind events based on the severity of the damage they cause.<ref>{{cite web |title=The International Fujita (IF) Scale Tornado and Wind Damage Assessment Guide |url=https://www.essl.org/media/publications/IF-scale_v0.10.pdf |website=ESSL.org |publisher=[[European Severe Storms Laboratory]] |access-date=26 June 2022 |archive-date=28 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428044530/https://www.essl.org/media/publications/IF-scale_v0.10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Doppler [[weather radar|radar]] data, [[photogrammetry]], and ground swirl patterns ([[trochoid]]al marks) may also be analyzed to determine intensity and assign a rating.<ref name="EF SPC">{{cite web|title=Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage|work=Storm Prediction Center|date=2007-02-01|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ef-scale.html|access-date=2009-06-21|archive-date=2012-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711091501/http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/ef-scale.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1|title = Tornado Intensity Estimation: Past, Present, and Future| journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society| volume=94| issue=5| pages=641–653|year = 2013|last1 = Edwards|first1 = Roger| last2=Ladue| first2=James G.| last3=Ferree| first3=John T.| last4=Scharfenberg| first4=Kevin| last5=Maier| first5=Chris| last6=Coulbourne| first6=William L.| bibcode=2013BAMS...94..641E| s2cid=7842905 | doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:AllTdots.png|thumb|300px|Tornadoes are so common in the U.S. that plotting their mid-points alone generates a recognizable map of the U.S. ...all tornadoes in the US, 1950–2013, highest [[Fujita scale|F-scale]] on top, source [[NOAA]] [[Storm Prediction Center]].]]