EF2 Tornado - Enhanced Fujita Scale

Next on the Enhanced Fujita Scale is the EF2 tornado. This category of tornado is rarer than EF0s and EF1s, but accounts for more deaths and property damage than both combined. With winds between 111 and 135 mph (178–217 km/h), considerable damage is often left behind. Roofs are ripped off homes, trees are uprooted, and cars are sometime lifted off the ground in wind speeds like this. EF0 and EF1 tornadoes fall under the broad classification of being considered “weak”. An EF2 isn’t considered to be weak but is instead considered “strong” by the National Severe Storms Laboratory.

Despite their classification as being "strong”, this is still a very middle of the road tornado in terms of strength. EF3s and above can inflict much more damage than EF2s. With EF2 strength, residential homes, especially brick structures, are still generally left standing aside for roofs. Mobile homes, RVs, and cars are not safe in wind speeds associated with tornadoes of this strength. A good example of this comes from an EF2 that hit Elgin, TX in March of 2022. Check out this red truck that was flipped over with the driver inside by an EF2 rated tornado. The link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulzCwJIUSXY

Thankfully the driver, a 16-year-old on his way to a job interview, was able to safely drive away after being flipped over. Most people, however, are not as lucky which is why it's always a good practice to go to your safe place during any tornado, especially strong ones like the one above. Interior closets and bathrooms typically keep people safe from tornadoes of this caliber. If you have the option, an underground cellar or basement is an even better safe spot.

EF2 tornadoes are infrequent outside of the Tornado Alley of North America. Worldwide, only 8.5% of all tornadoes classify as EF2 while this figure is slightly higher in the United States at just over 14%. Spring and summer are when EF2’s are most common in North America.

Like weaker tornadoes, EF2’s are typically not very wide at the base. Their average diameter is just 200 yards, which shows that a tornado that may look small and weak can actually be quite powerful. These twisters stay on the ground for a longer amount of time than their weaker counterparts. The average on-ground path of an EF2 in the U.S. is over 7 miles.

Between 1950 and 2022, a total of 35 deaths have been recorded from EF2 tornadoes in the United States. An additional 16,372 injuries have also been reported making these tornadoes very dangerous. The deadliest EF2 occurred in the early morning of February 13th, 1950, in Lauderdale Tennessee. A twister struck a small residential community when most of the inhabitants were likely sleeping. One of the homes, a poorly built structure with a family of eight inside, was lifted and thrown 85 feet killing six children and their two parents. A total of nine died from this storm which was in large part due to the timing of when the tornado hit and the lack of communication at the time.

A more recent EF2 hit Hot Springs Village, Arkansas on March 15th, 2024, causing significant damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. This tornado stayed on the ground for over eight miles, uprooting hundreds of trees, snapping utility poles, and damaging numerous buildings. Thankfully, no deaths were reported.

It becomes increasingly hard to find tornadoes outside of supercell thunderstorms as you move up the Enhance Fujita Scale. Hurricanes and tropical cyclones often spawn tornadoes along their outer rain bands, but these are usually weak. EF0s and EF1s are frequent within hurricanes, but EF2s are a little more difficult to find while EF3s and above are pretty much unheard of in tropical cyclones.

It takes almost perfect conditions for a “strong” tornado to form, and these conditions are hard to find outside of Tornado Alley and a few other select spots around the world. A supercell thunderstorm is the most common type of storm to accompany strong or intense tornadoes. Regardless of the storm type, for a tornado to form, there always needs to be one crucial ingredient: wind shear. Wind shear refers to the change in wind speed or direction with height in the atmosphere. This change in speed creates a horizontal rolling motion in the atmosphere. When this horizontal rotation encounters an updraft (rising air) within a thunderstorm, it can tilt the rotating column of air into a vertical position.

The updraft within the thunderstorm continues to lift air vertically, and the rotating column of air is stretched further. This stretching is facilitated by the combination of speed shear (variation in wind speed with altitude) and directional shear (variation in wind direction with altitude). The stretching of the rotating column of air increases its rotation speed due to conservation of angular momentum, similar to what happens when a figure skater pulls in their arms during a spin. This intensification of rotation within the updraft can lead to the formation of a tornado. When the rotation within the updraft reaches a critical threshold, it can produce a tornado. The tornado typically forms at the base of the thunderstorm where the rotating updraft meets the ground. The strength and duration of the tornado depends on various factors such as the intensity of the updraft, the amount of moisture and instability in the atmosphere, shear, and the amount of time these ingredients are present.

So, for a tornado, especially a strong one, to form, we need a lot of shear and a persistent updraft in an isolated environment. Supercells provide this kind of environment, which is why EF2, and above tornadoes most often occur in them. Within hurricanes and other storm complexes, shear is often limited and there's usually a multitude of other atmospheric dynamics going on which can disrupt the formation and intensification of tornadoes. Supercells can provide the necessary updraft and rotation for hours on end without any outside interference, allowing plenty of time for a tornado to form and intensify.