Where did all the EF5 tornadoes go?



The last EF5 tornado to hit the United States occurred on May 20, 2013, when neighborhoods in Moore, Oklahoma were leveled. Since then, there’s been an EF5 drought. MyRadar meteorologist Matthew Cappucci walks us through why.

00:00 – Intro
00:52 – EF0
01:11 – EF1
01:42 – EF2
02:06 – EF3
02:43 – EF4
03:48 – EF5
05:22 – Mayfield, KY
05:54 – Bassfield, MS
06:26 – El Reno, OK
07:31 – Moore, OK

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44 thoughts on “Where did all the EF5 tornadoes go?”

  1. Mayfield was no doubt an EF5 tornado, with the destruction it caused to such extremely well Built Homes along an extremely long path going through 4 states.. I did see a lot of the destruction that storm caused and it was unimaginable just as bad as the Moore Oklahoma tornado with trees debarked, cars twisted around and around and thrown for who knows how far.. also that same tornado picked up the locomotive engines that pulls the railroad cars and carried one about a hundred yards up a steep Hillside slamming it down and also ripped half inch thick steel side covers off of it throwing those wherever they may have wound up and I forgot to mention, one of those engines are in the area of 150 tons each, , so that takes impressive strength to do something like that..

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  2. the NWS can keep saying El Reno was an EF3 because "no damage commensurate with EF5 was found" but i will always consider El Reno an EF5 in my mind.

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  3. We've had many EF-5 level tornados, but I feel that the NWS is scared to use the rating.

    Vilonia, Katie-Wynnewood, Mayfield, Rolling Fork, Bassfield, Rochelle, Etc were all tornados that were EF-5 capable and all had contextual data that would support it.

    Having storm surveyor's compare these tornados to things like Moore '99 and Jarrel creates an environment where no tornado will ever be capable of getting an EF-5. You can't compare Mayfield to the STRONGEST tornado ever recorded and the worst damage ever recorded.

    Had Parkersburg, Joplin, or Greensburg happened today, they would be rated EF-4. Even Tuscaloosa had EF-5 damage found, but was ultimately ignored.

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  4. Rochelle was EF5, Mayfield was EF5, Rolling Fork was EF5…seen damage of all and damage from Moore, all 3 of those were just as bad, if not worse. Mayfield was far worse than anything i have seen or heard of…it was a clear EF5, the bs about "construction methods" is just political doublespeak meaning "yea this is clear EF5 DI, but our job secuirty relies on us rating it high-end EF4". Politics as usual in the US Gov.

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  5. I was in El Reno for that tornado. It was an insane day that I don't care to repeat. I couldn't imagine the damage if that storm formed just 25 miles east right at the edge of OKC.

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  6. I've always been confused as to why the NWS rates a tornado based on exclusively its damage. If there are reliable ground measurements indication winds above 200 MPH, hands down that HAS the capability of causing "EF5 damage". Giving wind speed estimates for each level on the EF scale means nothing if the NWS just says "yeah this tornado had 200+ MPH winds but went over some random field in the middle of nowhere so its an EF0". If there WAS anything there it would have been obliterated. Rating tornadoes by strength when possible also gives people a better idea of the occurrence of each strength of tornado, which also ties into patterns observed during each strength. Regardless you shouldn't be anywhere near a tornado, but for those people who don't follow that rule maybe this could help them understand the reality of what they're getting into. Like the video said if the 2021 study, that says 20% of tornados can cause EF4-EF5 damage, has merit maybe people would make better informed decisions when the real deal comes around.

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  7. What about the RollingFork “ef4” that had windspeeds way higher than 200mph but the people who reviewed it rated the tornado so badly lol. It was confirmed that multiple well built houses were swept out of their foundations, yet they only assessed it a total windspeed of 195mph -_-
    The Ef scale is outdated. Most stormchasers chasing deadly tornadoes find windspeeds of it, so there’s no point to ESTIMATE IT.

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  8. I would argue that one of 2 EF5s was giving 200+ mph winds without the exact wind number (Rainsville & Joplin). With that in mind, I do think if a tornado clocks at 200 mph is an EF5 if they credited those 2 tornadoes as an EF5. The Rochelle, IL Tornado was clocked at 200 mph in 2015, so IMO that was the last EF5. Still a long drought regardless, but some did achieved EF5 Winds in the middle of nowhere like Chapman, KS in 2016 & as mentioned Bassfield, MS in 2020.

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  9. I’m in full belief the Mayfield EF4 was in reality an EF5…I truly think they got it wrong…that tornado impacted my surrounding communities and I saw the damage up close and in person down to even the camping resort myself and my family stay at during summers and even the damage to the forestry was nothing less than EF5…there was just simply nothing left and there are scars shown on Google Earth from the majority of the tornado’s path…I truly believe they got it wrong

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  10. If only one of these would form over some very important buildings, maybe those in charge would find a way to actually put our tax dollars to good use and find a solution. If you can find a way to invent a piece of machinery to fly you halfway across the globe, I think mankind can figure out a pesky problem like the tornado. Unless humanity is really that dumb. Maybe we are.

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  11. Ok. I'm settling this once and for all. The EF5 hasn't gone anywhere. Stop spreading false news. They're there, alright, they're just not hitting anything, allowing them to be rated. We've been lucky should be the title. It's coming. The next multi billion dollar amd hundred plus death toll EF5 behemoth is coming. Hell, as of today, it has been 12 years since the Joplin Event…. it's coming again. It's just when it coming?

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  12. First time I e seen footage of the RVA EF3. I was about 1/2 mile down the road at work. I had no idea a tornado had come through until I got off work and saw the news.

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  13. There's an easily recognizable pattern by US Gov't agencies such as NOAA/NWS & USGS to downgrade ratings such as earthquakes and tornadic storms. The "Why the downgrade" may be driven by economics, or fear factor, but no one reason is clear. The agencies in question have yet to talk about "downgrading" storms and quakes openly… just parroting a blanket statement there's no such policy.

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  14. Mayfield and Rochelle/Fairdale tornado were definately f5 tornadoes. June First recently did a video on new rochelle tornado and showed with drag equations that there was an instance of 220mph+ wind.

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  15. We award hurricanes their top rating whether they hit anything or not. Scientific measured winds should trump damage. If you record winds over 200mph, it's an EF5.

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  16. If you noticed…..EF5 tornadoes pretty much happen during La Ninas. Go ahead…check the years…2011, 1999…list goes on. Find the La Nina year forecast and you can probably bet on some very strong tornadoes. 🙂

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  17. Erm… do i Fvck around and find out or do i start praying to any God that will listen… i believe in my God but also believe there could be something like Norse legend… which got wiped to the far corners of the world with Christianity being spread by Spaniards in the 13th and 14th centuries

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  18. Where are The EF five tornado‘s we probably had several since then the current EF scale went horribly wrong they either need to go back to the old scale or develop a new scale fast

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