I live in FL we supposedly never get ‘dangerous‘ tornadoes, but earlier today everyone was saying that there was one. How big does a tornado have to be to pick up a car? And what about to destroy a typical house (you know -- the houses that only have a thin layer of cement around the outside)? Thanks!
A tornado only has to be an EF2 to lift a car off the ground. To throw it a great distance requires a little more strength. The EF2 in Billings, MT on Father's Day picked up a pick-up in the parking lot outside the MetraPark and dropped it inside the arena. The truck wasn't that big, but nonetheless, the tornado was strong enough to get it inside a building. The twister also scattered and tossed some motorcycles in the showroom of a nearby business.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale is what is currently used to measure tornado intensity. EF-0 65 - 85 mph wind speeds. Minor damage. Some damage to chimneys; branches broken off trees; shallow-rooted trees pushed over; sign boards damaged. EF-1 86 - 110 mph wind speeds. Moderate damage. The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane wind speed; peels surface off roofs; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off the roads; attached garages may be destroyed. EF-2 111 - 135 mph wind speeds. Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; highrise windows broken and blown in; light-object missiles generated. EF-3 136 - 165 mph wind speeds. Critical damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; skyscrapers twisted and deformed with massive destruction of exteriors; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown. EF-4 166 - 200 mph wind speeds. Severe damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown away some distance; cars thrown and large missiles generated. Skyscrapers and highrises toppled and destroyed. EF-5 200 - + mph wind speeds. Devastating damage. Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 m (109 yd); trees debarked; steel reinforced concrete structures badly damaged; incredible phenomena will occur.
