EF5 drought
The EF5 Drought is a term for the fact there wasn't a tornado in the United States rated at EF5 for 12 years.[1] EF-5 is a rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. This scale is used by the US National Weather Service to measure the strength of tornados. This 12 year period, from 2013 to 2025, became known as the EF-5 Drought.[2] This was the longest tornado drought recorded.[3]
The drought started after the 2013 Moore tornado. The next EF5 tornado struck Enderlin, North Dakota, in June 2025.
Damage reported by the National Weather Service showed a train was derailed from the tracks. Engineers did some measurements and they were able to work out that a tornado would have to have winds of over 210 mph to lift a train off the track. The tornado was rated EF-5 on October 10, 2025. For years, people thought there would be no more EF-5 tornadoes.
Refences
[change | change source]- â "How rare is an EF-5 tornado?". WBTW. April 27, 2024. Archived from the original on February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- â Livingston, Ian (May 22, 2023). "There's a record drought in the scariest tornadoes. Still be scared". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
- â "The Last EF5 Tornado Struck Over 8 Years Ago And That's the Longest Streak Of Its Kind". The Weather Channel. December 11, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
