May Weather Can Be Deadly

U.S. Tornado Averages By State  (Source: NOAA)

Some of the most significant severe weather outbreaks in the United States have occurred in May.  That includes some of the strongest tornadoes on record.  Tornado intensity was originally measured on the “Fujita Scale” from F0 to F5, but the updated “Enhanced Fujita Scale” has been in use since February 2007.  

An F5 tornado on the original Fujita Scale required winds of at least 261 mph, while an EF-5 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale has winds of at least 200 mph.  There have been several infamous F5 and EF5 tornadoes in the United States during the last 20 years, as described below.  

2013:  Several dozen tornadoes occurred in the Midwest during a two-day severe weather outbreak on May 19-20.  The most devastating was on May 20 in the city of Moore, Oklahoma.  An EF-5 tornado touched down and caused widespread damage and a number of fatalities.  Since this tornado developed so quickly and was so intense – with winds greater than 200 mph – it was especially damaging and deadly.  

2011:  A deadly EF-5 tornado devastated the town of Joplin, Missouri on May 22.  According to the National Weather Service, it was one of the deadliest in U.S. history with 122 fatalities and more than 700 injured.  NOAA also ranks the Joplin tornado as the most destructive on record in the United States, having caused an estimated $2.8 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation).

2007: The town of Greensburg, Kansas, was impacted by an EF5 tornado on May 4 that was both destructive and deadly.  It was also significant for being the first tornado to be ranked an “EF5” since the updated or “Enhanced” Fujita Scale went into operational use earlier that year.  This tornado is widely considered to be the strongest U.S. tornado since 1999.

1999: An F5 tornado occurred in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on May 3.  It was the strongest tornado that occurred during this outbreak and remains one of the strongest on record.  Winds of more than 300 mph were reported from a mobile Doppler radar that helped track this devastating storm.  This tornado also ranked among the costliest in U.S. history and was the last tornado to be ranked an F5 on the original Fujita Scale.  Many of the same areas would be impacted again by the devastating May 2013 EF-5 tornado.

Despite a common myth that tornadoes can’t or don’t affect urban areas, there have been several tornadoes that have impacted cities in the last 20 years including Nashville, TN and Birmingham, AL.  Tornadoes have even impacted cities where severe weather is less common, such as New York City and Washington, D.C.