Danielnrg OP t1_iu8ci7y wrote on October 29, 2022 at 10:20 AM

Reply to comment by PreOpTransCentaur in TIL We are currently amidst the longest gap between EF5 tornadoes in history by Danielnrg

I had a longer post, using the same sources and methodology, that got rejected by some other subreddits multiple times. It was originally geared towards having a discussion about why it's been so long. I retooled it into a "factoid" with the same intention of asking why it's been so long without an EF5, for this sub. Short answer, yes I did take this into account. Under the Fujita scale, the longest gap between F5 tornadoes (since the 1950s) was 5 years, until the previous record of 8 years (May 3, 1999 - May 4, 2007). Under the new Enhanced Fujita Scale, it is now 9 years, 5 months and some-odd days, and counting since an EF5 tornado has hit the US.

time2fly2124 t1_iu8v2c7 wrote on October 29, 2022 at 1:42 PM

The Fujita scales have always been about recorded damage due to a tornado. The only change between the F scale and the EF scale was windspeeds. The original scale over estimated speeds, and the new EF scale accurately depicts better data that was collected to adjust the speeds. An F5 and EF5 still produce catastrophic damage, same as how an F1 and EF1 will produce minimal damage.