When was the last category 5 tornado

The nighttime Guin, Alabama tornado traveled at mph and was on the ground for 80 miles 24 killed. Earlier in the day, the famous Xenia, Ohio tornado was also an F5 in this outbreak 32 killed.

You might notice the list only goes back to The U. There are also other oddities on the map. The furthest west an F5 tornado was documented was in the Texas Panhandle in Lubbock, Texas, in The furthest east F5 tornado was in Niles, Ohio in The southernmost was the monster and slow-moving Jarrell, Texas tornado in May The northernmost was in Fargo, ND in Other oddities include two cities that were struck twice: Waco, Texas and Moore, Oklahoma.

Harvey has since been followed by major U. Please read our Comments Policy prior to posting. Comments are generally open for 30 days from date posted. Twitter: DrJeffMasters and bhensonweather. Bob Henson is a meteorologist and journalist based in Boulder, Colorado.

He has written on weather and climate for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Weather Underground, and many freelance More by Bob Henson. Skip to content A resident of Moore, Oklahoma, surveys the destruction after an EF5 tornado demolished her home on May 20, Photo credit: Jonathan C. Debris fills the streets of Joplin on June 4, , after an EF5 tornado devastated the southwest Missouri city on May Four of those were in the April 27 super outbreak in Alabama and Mississippi.

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 through were from tornadoes rated EF4 or EF5, according to data from Dr.

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