Fujita Scale

The Fujita scale was created by Ted Fujita of the University of Chicago developed a scale, along with the help and expertise of Allen Pearson, in 1971 in order the rate the size of a tornado. The scale was developed in accordance to the damage left behind. This meant that even in a prediction of a tornado, the size of the tornado could not be specified until the aftermath had been assessed, therefore Fujita Scale can only be used as a best educated guess, however it was a start for tornado research. Fujita and other scientists recognised early on that, in order to get an accurate reading for scale to compare the size and intensity of a tornado, wind speeds are needed to be recorded accurately. With subsequent research, Fujita discovered that tornado wind speeds required to inflict the damage, he'd previously described in the scale, were much lower, particularly in the higher categories. others factors which left Fujita's scale as a best guess was due to the little leeway given of the strength of the construction or other elements which could have caused the damage. In 1992 Fujita tried to modify and update the scale but by then he was semi-retired and the National Weather Service was not in a position for the undertaking of updating to an entirely new scale.