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A Look at the Biggest and Deadliest Tornadoes: EF5S Look at the Biggest and Deadliest Tornadoes: EF5S
These violent tornadoes are exceeding rare but important to document. Once a tornado has been rated an EF-5, a special team from the National Weather Service has to approve that declaration.
The official EF-5 rating can’t happen without a considerable scientific review of the damage. Remember, the tornado rating scale is a damage scale. A tornado can only be rated if it hits something and the damage is calculated later.
They Often Come in Bunches
Many of these top-end tornadoes have hit on historic days with tornado outbreaks. Most recently, there were four EF-5 tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama on April 27, 2011.
This included the horrible Hackleburg/Phil Campbell, Alabama tornado that killed 72 people.
Northern Alabama was also included in the 1974 Super Outbreak. There were a remarkable seven F5 tornadoes on April 3-4, 1974, in Alabama, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
The nighttime Guin, Alabama tornado traveled at 100 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).
