Deathly tornado Torn across southeast North Dakota this summer, winds at 200 mph (322 kph) are the strongest classification of tornadoes, first upgraded to EF5, the first confirmed EF5 in 12 years, meteorologists said Monday.
A June 20th Twister near the town of Enderlin killed three people, culminating 12 miles (19 kilometers) across the grassland, up to 1.05 miles (1.7 kilometers). A newly released analysis shows meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks estimated the tornado winds reached 210 mph (338 kph).
The 1999 Bridge Creek Moor Tornado in Oklahoma holds the strongest wind record ever recorded in the US at 321 mph (517 kph).
Since the National Weather Service began using the enhanced Fujita scale in 2007, there have been 10 tornadoes classified as EF5. The 12-year gap between top ratings is the longest since the agency began keeping its record in 1950. Early tornadoes were evaluated using an older version of the EF scale called the Fujita scale.
“There were several strong tornadoes approaching in the last 12 years, but no damage indicators were known at the time to support the EF5 evaluation,” said Melinda Bealend, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks.
“It’s hard to hit something into a tornado,” she said.
The morning after the EF5 tornado, meteorologists from the Grand Forks office headed towards the field to assess the damage. They studied how the twisters uprooted the trees, tilted them onto fully loaded railroad cars, destroying the fallen transmission tower and destroying the farm.
“The city of Enderlin went almost unharmed besides losing power,” Mayor Deon Masjo said. Two men and one woman were killed in two locations east of the town about 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Fargo.
As meteorologists have studied damage to buildings and trees, it usually takes days or weeks to determine the strength of a tornado. This case caused extraordinary damage to the railcar, which took much longer due to abnormal damage to the railcar, including those that were picked up and cast far away from others. Meteorologists worked with engineers and wind damage experts to conduct additional research and forensic analysis to determine EF5 ratings that would rise from the initial estimate of EF3.
The tornado was caused by warm, humid air in ripe places with thunderstorms, Bealend said. However, there was also a large amount of wind shearing. This is the fluctuations in the speed and direction of the wind that created the tornado conditions.
Tornadoes have been occurring more frequently in recent years east said Victor Jensee, a professor of atmospheric science at Northern Illinois University of the Mississippi River.
“If you saw it 40-50 years ago, tornadoes that were happening in places like Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are happening in less frequent places, and you’re seeing more tornadoes in places like Birmingham, Little Rock, Memphis,” he said.
Meteorologists are not sure what is causing the trend, but it is worth noting that tornadoes in the south and midwest are more common due to their proximity to population centers.
Last recorded EF5 tornado On May 20, 2013, in a town outside Oklahoma City, he killed 24 people and injured more than 200 people. The tornado tore hundreds of homes, Moore’s schools, hospitals and bowling alleys. Movie fans They lined up to watch the 2024 film “Twisters.”
