EF-4, EF-5 tornadoes: 7 things to know about Earth’s most violent cyclones

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Rolling Fork, Mississippi, 'absolutely devastated' following Friday night's EF-4 tornado

FOX Weather's Robert Ray is live from Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where he says the power remains out and "everything around you is 100% destroyed."

Meteorologists use a six-level scale to rate tornadoes, which uses damage caused by the storm to estimate the twister’s wind speed.

The Enhanced Fujita Scale starts at 0, the weakest rating, and goes to 5, the strongest rating.

Here are seven things to know about EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes, which fall into the worst of the scale.

1. They are violent

According to the National Weather Service, winds in an EF-4 tornado are estimated to be between 166 and 200 mph, while EF-5 tornadoes have estimated winds of more than 200 mph.

Photo of the May 20, 2013, Newcastle-South OKC-Moore EF-5 tornado.

(Gabe Garfield/NWS)

2. They cause extensive damage

Both EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes cause devastating damage.

In the case of an EF-4, well-constructed homes can be swept off their foundation, vehicles can be thrown considerable distances and trains can be swept off their tracks.

The damage from an EF-5 tornado is catastrophic. Homes and businesses are swept away, trees are debarked, vehicles are mangled and skyscrapers sustain major damage. Even the grass can be ripped out of the ground.

3. They are rare

EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes are among the rarest cyclones on the planet. In the United States, there were only 572 EF-4 and 59 EF-5 tornadoes between 1950 and 2019. So, that works out to an average of about eight EF-4 tornadoes in the U.S. each year. For EF-5 tornadoes, the U.S. yearly average is less than one.

4. The last EF-4 happened in 2022

An aerial view from a drove show tornado damage to homes on March 26, 2021 in Newnan, Georgia.

(Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

A tornado that destroyed Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on March 24, 2023, has received a preliminary rating of EF-4. However, a final rating will decide how this twister ranks.

As of the date of publication, the last officially rated EF-4 tornado happened near Rugby, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2022.

According to the NWS, the twister touched down near Clarksville and moved northeast, crossing the Red River and ending in Oklahoma. No deaths were reported, but 7 people were injured by the storm. The tornado caused about $2 million in property damage.

5. The last EF-5 happened in 2013

Volunteers help a homeowner whose house was detroyed by the May 20 tornado on May 27, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma.

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

As of the date of publish, the last officially rated EF-5 tornado happened in Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2013.

The monster tornado killed 24 people and injured at least 200 people were injured along the storm's 17-mile path through the town just southeast of Oklahoma City.

The twister caused an estimated $2 billion in damage.

6. The worst tornado ever happened in 1925

The worst tornado in U.S. history happened on March 18, 1925. The Tri-State Tornado, as it is called, tore a 219-mile path across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The nearly mile-wide twister with winds near 300 mph killed 695 people and injured more than 2,000. About 15,000 homes were destroyed.

7. Some call them the ‘Finger of God’

Tornadoes on the highest end of the Enhanced Fujita Scale are referred to by some as the "Finger of God."

The phrase was popularized by the 1996 film "Twister." The scene features a group of storm chasers and other people gathered around a table for lunch, discussing the "Fujita Scale," the precursor to the Enhanced Fujita Scale that we use today.

WE ALL LOVE THE MOVIE ‘TWISTER,’ BUT IS IT SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE?

"Is there an F5? What would that be like?" someone at the table asks.

"The finger of God," one of the chasers replies.