A Picture of an F4 Tornado Funnel

F4 Tornado

An F4 tornado is the second most intense tornado on the retired Fujita Scale. An F4 will have wind speeds between 207 to 260 mph. F4 tornadoes can cause devastating damage. On the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the tornado damage scale that replaced the Fujita Scale, an F4 tornado is now an EF4 tornado. An EF4 tornado has wind speeds between 166 and 200 mph.

One of the deadliest F4 tornado in U.S. history was the 1902 Goliad, Texas tornado on May 18th, 1902. It caused death and destruction in the town of Goliad in Texas. It killed 114 people and injured 250. It caused an estimated $125,000 in damage or $3.6 million in 2018 USD.


F4 Tornado Facts

  1. An F4 tornado is the strongest tornado on the retried Fujita Scale.
  2. An F4 tornado has winds speeds between 207 to 260 mph.
  3. Damage from a F4 tornado is described as "significant".
  4. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 there was 498 confirmed F4 tornadoes.
  5. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 there was 2,204 confirmed fatalities from F4 tornadoes.
  6. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 there was 30,108 confirmed injuries from F4 tornadoes.
  7. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 the deadliest F4 tornado was on 6/9/1953 and killed 94 people in Massachusetts.
  8. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 the F4 tornado to cause the most injuries was on 4/10/1979 and injured 1,740 people.
  9. In the United States, between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007 the year with the most F4 tornadoes was 1965 with 38.
  10. On the current Enhanced Fujita Scale, an F4 tornado is now called an EF4 tornado.

Notable F4 Tornadoes

Below is a list of the top 5 deadliest F4 tornadoes between 1950 and Jan 31st, 2007.

  • On June 9th, 1953 in Massachusetts an F4 tornado killed 94 people.
  • On February 21st, 1971 in Mississippi and Tennessee an F4 tornado killed 58 people.
  • On March 21st, 1952 in Arkansas an F4 tornado killed 50 people.
  • On April 10th, 1979 in Texas an F4 tornado killed 42 people.
  • On March 21st, 1952 in Tennessee an F4 tornado killed 38 people.

Fujita Scale