The Enhanced Fujita Scale is a classification system for tornadoes. A tornadocan be classified in six different strengths, from EF-0 to EF-5, under thissystem. EF-0 is the weakest tornado while EF-5 is the strongest. The EnhancedFujita Scale estimates wind speeds of the tornado that went through aparticular area based on the damage it has caused. An example of EF-0 damagewould be shingles torn off a building. In an EF-5 tornado, the building wouldbe leveled.Based on the devastation that was left in Joplin, Mo., this past Sunday, it wasdetermined that a strong EF-4 tornado went through the city. The tornado couldhave produced winds near 200 mph.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More From Star Tribune
More From Weather
Sports
Paris dazzles with a rainy Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine River
A hot-air balloon brought an Olympic ring of fire into a rainy sky and singer Celine Dion belted from the Eiffel Tower as Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century Friday, with a four-hour-long, rule-breaking opening ceremony that unfurled along the Seine River.
Sports
Rain, rain and more rain couldn't drown out the cheers at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Drizzles, sprinkles and then full-on, nonstop rain drenched the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Ponchos, tarps and Eiffel Tower-patterned umbrellas weren't enough to protect the soggy but cheering crowds watching the show on the banks of the choppy Seine River.
Local
Longtime broadcast meteorologist Paul Douglas is retiring from WCCO radio
Douglas, who arrived in the Twin Cities in 1983, will continue to run his weather company and prognosticate for the Star Tribune.
Paul Douglas
Weather Whiplash: This Is Exhibit A
The metro area should experience a mostly dry weekend, but Sunday T-storms flare up from Alexandria to Brainerd.
Nation
US coastal communities get $575M to guard against floods, other climate disasters
The federal government is giving more than a half-billion dollars to coastal communities to help them use nature-based preventative measures to address climate-related flooding and other disasters.
