The Last EF5 Tornado Struck Over 8 Years Ago And That's the Longest Streak Of Its Kind

This is the longest-streak without an EF5/F5 tornado since records began in 1950.

The previous record streak without such an intense tornado was an eight-year period from May 3, 1999 (Moore/Bridge Creek, Oklahoma) to May, 4, 2007 (Greensburg, Kansas).

Tornadoes assigned an EF5/F5 rating have historically been rare, but when they do strike, the damage in the affected communities is devastating.

Since 1950, 59 tornadoes have been rated EF5/F5, an average of less than one per year, according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. The frequency has ranged from several tornadoes rated this magnitude in a single year to multi-year periods with none.

Nineteen states have experienced an EF5/F5 tornado since 1950, as far east as Ohio and as far north as North Dakota. Alabama and Oklahoma lead the way with seven "5-rated" tornadoes, followed closely by Texas, Iowa and Kansas with six such tornadoes each.

The most EF5/F5 tornadoes in a single year were in 1974 when the April 3 super outbreak spawned seven in a 24-hour period.

2011 had the second-most EF5/F5 tornadoes of any year with six. Four of those were in the April 27 Super Outbreak in Alabama and Mississippi. The other two touched down during May in Joplin, Missouri, and El Reno/Piedmont, Oklahoma.

On March 3, 2019, an EF4 tornado struck Lee County, Alabama, making it the first EF4 or stronger tornado in the U.S. in nearly two years. The previous EF4 tornado occurred on April 29, 2017 in Canton, Texas. In addition, the EF4 in early March in Alabama killed 23 people, making it the deadliest tornado since the Moore, Oklahoma, EF5 tornado in 2013.

How Tornadoes Are Rated

Since 2007, tornadoes have been rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF0-EF5) based on the damage they cause.

This scale is an upgraded version of the original Fujita Scale developed in 1971 by Dr. Ted Fujita, a University of Chicago severe storms research scientist.

Tornado intensity cannot be determined while they are in progress or by their appearance.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service survey areas where tornado damage has occurred. They then use the Enhanced Fujita Scale to estimate the maximum winds in the tornado.

(MORE: How Tornadoes Are Rated)

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