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Breaking News: Tenth Bali Global Warming Conference Ends with Historic Agreement
Tornado Intensity Scale Expanded in Anticipation of Global Warming
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In response to a public perception that tornadoes will worsen with global warming, the top end of the famous Fujita scale of tornado intensity has been expanded from F6 to F8. |
(Norman, Oklahoma) The devastating impact of global warming continues to reverberate throughout the climate research community. Now, due to the expected increase in tornado intensity that will inevitably result from global warming, the top end of the famous Fujita scale of tornado intensity has been extended from F6 to F8.
Tornado researchers at the National Severe Storms Laboratory have been debating the change ever since some of them witnessed the incredible tornadoes in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". Even though several of the researchers maintain there is no historical evidence that the incidence of the most damaging tornadoes has increased in the United States, they were out-voted by those who argued that it is better to be "ready for anything".
The change was partly motivated by polling data in recent years that revealed that the American public expects global warming will cause greater extremes in weather, including tornado severity. "Our job is to be responsive to the expectations of the public", explained meteorologist Dorothy Gale.
The new scale will help classify the mega-tornadoes that are expected to occur as global temperatures continue to uncontrollably spiral upward. Whereas the greatest intensity of F6 had previously been classified as 'inconceivable', the new F6 descriptor is 'mind-boggling'. "With today's computer special effects, there really isn't anything that is 'inconceivable' anymore", explained Dr. Gale, "so it was necessary to provide a more realistic description of these intensity categories that matches the expectations of the public."
| Intensity |
Wind Speed Range |
Old Description |
New Description |
| F0 |
40-72 mph |
Weak |
Weak |
| F1 |
73-112 mph |
Moderate |
Moderate |
| F2 |
113-157 mph |
Significant |
Significant |
| F3 |
158-206 mph |
Severe |
Severe |
| F4 |
207-260 mph |
Devastating |
Devastating |
| F5 |
261-318 mph |
Incredible |
Incredible |
| F6 |
319-379 mph |
Inconceivable |
Mind-boggling |
| F7 |
380-460.5 mph |
|
Unthinkably Staggering |
| F8 |
460.6-525 mph |
|
Unimaginably Stupendous |
The new scale will be implemented immediately, Gale said. "We want to be ready for anything Mother Nature can throw at us. This new tornado scale also puts us more in line with TV meteorologists' embellishments of their weather warnings in recent years."
When asked whether tornado instrumentation, like that in the 'TOTO' tornado probe, would also be beefed up to measure the stronger tornadoes, Dr. Gale answered, "TOTO, too."
Breaking News: Tenth Bali Global Warming Conference Ends with Historic Agreement
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