Topic Tuesday #44 2013/05/21 - "The Finger of God"

The devastation in the heartland cannot be ignored. We will not go into the bloodshed and human damages imparted to us by the recent rash of twisters through Oklahoma. We must look ahead so I will talk about the power of nature and how we classify these storms.

The National Weather Service was instrumental in saving lives by having a tornado warning in effect 16 minutes before the 2 mile wide twister wrought havoc on the ground for over 40 minutes traveling 17 miles. This was the worst of a series of storms that devastated 16 counties in Oklahoma over the weekend.
Tornados are measured on a severity scale, similar to hurricanes. Let's be clear however. To equate the two would be like saying trench warfare in WWI was the same as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in WWII. Hurricanes are a slow burning bonfire; tornadoes are kegs of black powder and nitro thrown into a volcano.
In 1971, Dr. Tetsuya Fujita and Allen Pearson came up with a scale (F-Scale) for measuring the intensity of tornadoes by their damage path. 
In 2007, the scale was updated to its current form, the Enhanced Fugita Scale. 

Each damage level is associated with a wind speed however, the Fujita scale is effectively a damage scale, and the wind speeds associated with the damage listed aren't rigorously verified. 
Basically, rating the damage of a tornado is as much an art as it is a science.
For a write up on what is entailed in the EFScale, follow the link below. The reading is fascinating but dry.
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/weweb/Pubs/fscale/EFScale.pdf

What we are usually concerned with is the F0 - F5 range.

• F0 - Wind: 64-116 km/h - Damage Path Width: 10-50 meters - Damage: Light. Heavy storm style
• F1 - Wind: 117-180 km/h - Damage Path Width: 10-50 meters - Damage: Moderate. Hurricane force winds, roof surface damage, light structures damaged.
• F2 - Wind: 181-253 km/h - Damage Path Width: 10-50 meters - Damage: Significant.  Roofs sail away, trains overturn, large trees snap, highrise windows blow in.
• F3 - Wind: 254-332 km/h - Damage Path Width: 200-500 meters - Damage: Severe. More and worse, larger missiles, some cars leave the gound.
• F4 - Wind: 333-418 km/h - Damage Path Width: 400-900 meters (1/4 to 1/2 mile) - Damage: Devastating. Well constructed homes demolished. Cars take flight.
• F5 - Wind: 419-512 km/h - Damage Path Width: 1100 meters (3/4 of a mile) - Damage: Incredible Car size missiles hurled 100+ meters, bark on trees removed, steel reinforced concrete structures damaged

The storm in Oklahoma, would be beyond an EF5. It's damage path was over 1.5 miles wide.
No one every really classifies tornadoes beyond an EF5. But now, you know why storms of such magnitude are referred to as "The Finger of God".

If you wish to lend assistance to those in need, please visit http://newsok.com/how-to-help-several-nonprofits-are-collecting-donations/article/3828009 They have done a phenomenal job of collating a majority of the charities giving the real needed aide to those affected by these storms.
For government assistance Governor Mary Fallin and her staff have out together www.­okstrong.­ok.­gov