Editing Fujita scale (section)

== Parameters ==
The six categories are listed here, in order of increasing intensity.
* The rating of any given tornado is of the most severe damage to any well-built frame home or comparable level of damage from engineering analysis of other damage.
* Since the Fujita scale is based on the severity of damage resulting from high winds, a tornado exceeding F5 is an immeasurable theoretical construct. Frame-home structural damage cannot exceed total destruction and debris dispersal, which constitutes F5 damage. Tornadoes with wind speeds over {{cvt|319|mph|km/h}} are possible and such extreme gusts have been determined using [[Mobile radar observation of tornadoes|mobile radar observation]], but no tornado has received an official damage-based F6 rating.

{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="text-align:center; background:gainsboro;"
| rowspan="2" | '''Scale'''
| colspan="2" | {{nowrap|'''Wind speed estimate'''<ref name="SPC">[http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f-scale.html Fujita Tornado Damage Scale] [[Storm Prediction Center]]. Accessed May 20, 2009.</ref>}}
| rowspan="2" | '''Frequency'''<ref name="SPC WCM">{{cite web | title = Storm Prediction Center WCM Data| publisher = Storm Prediction Center| url = https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/| access-date = September 15, 2021 }}</ref>
| rowspan="2" colspan="2" | '''Potential damage'''<ref name="SPC"/>
|-  style="text-align:center; background:gainsboro;"
| '''[[Miles per hour|mph]]'''
| '''[[km/h]]'''
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|storm}}" | <big>'''F0'''</big> {{Anchor|F0}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 40–72 ||  style="text-align:center;"| 64–116 || style="text-align:center;"| 44.14%
| Light damage.{{pb}}Well-built structures are typically unscathed, though sometimes sustaining broken windows, with minor damage to roofs and chimneys. Billboards and large signs can be knocked down. Trees may have large branches broken off and can be uprooted if they have shallow roots.
|| [[File:FEMA - 40806 - Workers cleaning a damagaed roof in Arkansas.jpg|200px|Well-built structures are typically unscathed, though sometimes sustaining broken windows, with minor damage to roofs and chimneys. Billboards and large signs can be knocked down. Trees may have large branches broken off and can be uprooted if they have shallow roots.]]
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|cat1}}" | <big>'''F1'''</big> {{Anchor|F1}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 73–112 || style="text-align:center;"| 117–180 || style="text-align:center;"| 34.24%
| Moderate damage.{{pb}}Damage to mobile homes and other temporary structures becomes significant, and cars and other vehicles can be pushed off the road or flipped. Permanent structures can suffer major damage to their roofs.
|| [[File:FEMA - 28916 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 03-08-2007 in Georgia.jpg|200px|There is damage to mobile homes and other temporary structures becomes significant, and cars and other vehicles can be pushed off the road or flipped. Permanent structures can suffer major damage to their roofs.]]
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|cat2}}" | <big>'''F2'''</big> {{Anchor|F2}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 113–157 || style="text-align:center;"| 181–253 || style="text-align:center;"| 16.17%
| Significant damage.{{pb}}Well-built structures can suffer serious damage, including roof loss, and the collapse of some exterior walls may occur in poorly built structures. Mobile homes, however, are destroyed. Vehicles can be lifted off the ground, and lighter objects can become small missiles, causing damage outside of the tornado's main path. Wooded areas have a large percentage of their trees snapped or uprooted.
|| [[File:FEMA - 40846 - Homeowner and volunteers assess the damage to his home in Arkansas.jpg|200px|Well-built structures can suffer serious damage, including roof loss, and the collapse of some exterior walls may occur in poorly built structures. Mobile homes, however, are destroyed. Vehicles can be lifted off the ground, and lighter objects can become small missiles, causing damage outside of the tornado's main path. Wooded areas have a large percentage of their trees snapped or uprooted.]]
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|cat3}}" | <big>'''F3'''</big> {{Anchor|F3}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 158–206 || style="text-align:center;"| 254–332 || style="text-align:center;"| 4.35%
| Severe damage.{{pb}}A few parts of affected buildings are left standing. Well-built structures lose all outer and some inner walls. Unanchored homes are swept away, and homes with poor anchoring may collapse entirely. Trains and train cars are all overturned. Small vehicles and similarly sized objects are lifted off the ground and tossed as projectiles. Wooded areas suffer an almost total loss of vegetation and some tree debarking may occur.
|| [[File:FEMA - 9697 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 05-27-2004 in Nebraska.jpg|200px|A few parts of affected buildings are left standing. Well-built structures lose all outer and some inner walls. Unanchored homes are swept away, and homes with poor anchoring may collapse entirely. Trains and train cars are all overturned. Small vehicles and similarly sized objects are lifted off the ground and tossed as projectiles. Wooded areas suffer an almost total loss of vegetation and some tree debarking may occur.]]
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|cat4}}" | <big>'''F4'''</big> {{Anchor|F4}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 207–260 || style="text-align:center;"| 333–418 || style="text-align:center;"| 1.00%
| Devastating damage.{{pb}}Well-built homes are reduced to a short pile of medium-sized debris on the foundation. Homes with poor or no anchoring are swept completely away. Large, heavy vehicles, including airplanes, trains, and large trucks, can be pushed over, flipped repeatedly, or picked up and thrown. Large, healthy trees are entirely debarked and snapped off close to the ground or uprooted altogether and turned into flying projectiles. Passenger cars and similarly sized objects can be picked up and flung for considerable distances.
|| [[File:FEMA - 9698 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 05-27-2004 in Nebraska.jpg|200px|Well-built homes are reduced to a short pile of medium-sized debris on the foundation. Homes with poor or no anchoring are swept completely away. Large, heavy vehicles, including airplanes, trains, and large trucks, can be pushed over, flipped repeatedly, or picked up and thrown. Large, healthy trees are entirely debarked and snapped off close to the ground or uprooted altogether and turned into flying projectiles. Passenger cars and similarly sized objects can be picked up and flung for considerable distances.]]
|-
| align="center" bgcolor="#{{storm color|cat5}}" | <big>'''F5'''</big> {{Anchor|F5}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 261–318 || style="text-align:center;"| 419–512 || style="text-align:center;"| 0.10%
| Incredible damage.{{pb}}Well-built and well-anchored homes are taken off their foundations and they go into the air before obliteration. The wreckage of those homes is flung for miles and those foundations are swept completely clean. Large, steel-reinforced structures such as schools are completely leveled. Low-lying grass and vegetation are shredded from the ground. Trees are completely debarked and snapped. Very little recognizable structural debris is generated with most materials reduced to a coarse mix of small, granular particles and dispersed. Large, multiple-ton steel frame vehicles and farm equipment are often mangled beyond recognition and tossed miles away or reduced entirely to unrecognizable parts. Tall buildings collapse or have severe structural deformations. The official description of this damage highlights the extreme nature of the destruction, noting that "incredible phenomena can and will occur". (most recent example: [[2007 Elie tornado]])
|| [[File:FEMA - 35405 - Tornado damage in Iowa.jpg|200px|Well-built and well-anchored homes are taken off their foundations and they go into the air before obliteration. The wreckage of those homes is flung for miles and those foundations are swept completely clean. Large, steel-reinforced structures such as schools are completely leveled. Low-lying grass and vegetation are shredded from the ground. Trees are completely debarked and snapped. Very little recognizable structural debris is generated with most materials reduced to a coarse mix of small, granular particles and dispersed. Large, multiple-ton steel frame vehicles and farm equipment are often mangled beyond recognition and tossed miles away or reduced entirely to unrecognizable parts. Tall buildings collapse or have severe structural deformations. The official description of this damage highlights the extreme nature of the destruction, noting that "incredible phenomena can and will occur".]]
|}

===Pearson scales===
In 1973, Allen Pearson added additional path length and path width parameters to the Fujita scale. Under this version, each tornado would be assigned one Fujita scale rating and two Pearson scale ratings. For example, a tornado rated F4 based on damage with a path length of {{convert|63|mi|km}} and a path width of {{convert|800|yd|m}} would be rated F,P,P 4,4,4. Use of the Pearson scales was not widespread, however, and it remained more common to simply list a tornado's path length and path width directly.<ref name="significant tornadoes"/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0"
|+ Pearson scales
!scope="col"| Scale
!scope="col"| Path length
!scope="col"| Path width
|-
|–
|<{{cvt|0.3|mi|km}}
|<{{cvt|6|yd|m}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|storm}}"| '''P0'''
|{{cvt|0.3-0.9|mi|km}}
|{{cvt|6-17|yd|m}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat1}}"| '''P1'''
|{{cvt|1.0-3.1|mi|km}}
|{{cvt|18-55|yd|m}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat2}}"| '''P2'''
||{{cvt|3.2-9.9|mi|km}}
||{{cvt|56-175|yd|m}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat3}}"| '''P3'''
||{{cvt|10-31|mi|km}}
||{{cvt|176-566|yd|m}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat4}}"| '''P4'''
|{{cvt|32-99|mi|km}}
||{{cvt|0.3-0.9|mi|km}}
|-
|bgcolor="{{storm colour|cat5}}"| '''P5'''
|{{cvt|100-315|mi|km}}
|{{cvt|1.0-3.1|mi|km}}
|}