Tornado Central

The Last U.S. EF5 Tornado Struck 6 Years Ago And That's the Second-Longest Streak of Its Kind

At a Glance

Very few tornadoes have been given the most violent EF5/F5 rating since 1950.
The last EF5 tornado in the U.S. was almost six years ago in Moore, Oklahoma.

It's been six years this Monday since the last catastrophic EF5 tornado struck the United States, occurring in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013.

This is the second longest-streak without an EF5/F5 tornado since records began in 1950 and it is just the second time dating to 1950 the U.S. has gone five years or longer with no twisters rated EF5/F5.

The number of F/EF5 tornadoes in the U.S. by year from 1950-2018.
(Data: NOAA/SPC; Graph: Infogram)

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

A protruding anchor bolt from slab with base plate ripped away is shown among the rubble of a destroyed home in Smithville, Mississippi, following an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011. (NWS-Memphis) — A protruding anchor bolt from slab with base plate ripped away is shown among the rubble of a destroyed home in Smithville, Mississippi, following an EF5 tornado on April 27, 2011.
(NWS-Memphis)

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.

(MORE: The Most Dangerous Time For Tornadoes)

Eighteen 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.

Each red triangle is the location of a tornado that caused EF5 or F5 damage. A total of 59 tornadoes have been rated this intensity since 1950.

The year 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.

Although tornadoes of any intensity can be deadly, higher-end twisters have historically killed a larger percentage of people. About half of the deaths from 2000 through 2013 were from tornadoes rated EF4 or EF5, according to data from Dr. Greg Forbes of The Weather Channel.

The largest percentage of tornado deaths are caused by twisters rated EF3-EF5.

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)