Draft:List of the strongest recorded tornadoes

The list of the strongest tornadoes documented, with either high wind speeds or incredible damage that was produced. This list will not compare tornadoes, but instead list them.

This list will include incredible damage features as well as estimated or radar indicated wind speeds inside tornadoes. If a tornado was officially rated lower than estimated wind speeds, it will still be included.

Criteria

The following tornadoes in this list must include at least one or more notable and strong feature. For instance, a 300mph (482km/h) wind gust, incredible or rare damage features. Estimated wind speeds inside tornadoes, such as basing off damage, or photogrammetry, are also included in this list..

These lists will be separate in the order of radar indicated wind speeds, damage, and estimated wind speeds for a more arranged list. This list will only include documented tornadoes. If a powerful tornado occurred but was never recorded or had little detail or documentation, it will not be included.

List

Radar image of the 2013 El Reno tornado.

The strongest tornadoes on record in time order.

Radar Indicated Wind Speeds (+250mph/+402km/h)

Date	Location	Maximum Wind Speeds	Detail
April 26, 1991	Ceres, Oklahoma	280mph (450km/h)	Mobile doppler weather radar analyzed wind speeds of 120-125m/s, translating to 280mph (450km/h) wind speeds.[1]
May 30, 1998	Spencer, South Dakota	264mph (425km/h)	Measured below 160ft (50m) above ground level by doppler on wheels, with a 5 second gust containing 264mph winds.[2]
May 3, 1999	Bridge Creek, Oklahoma	321mph (517km/h)	Scanned by doppler radar moments after the F5 tornado exited Bridge Creek, capturing 301mph winds, later revised in 2021 to be 321mph. The fastest wind gust ever recorded on earth.[3]
May 3,1999	Mulhall, Oklahoma	257mph (414km/h)	Measured inside sub-vortices inside an F4 near Mulhall the same day as the Bridge Creek tornado, with 257mph (414km/h) wind gusts.[4]
June 5, 2009	Goshen County, Wyoming	271mph (436km/h)	Observed a peak wind speed of 271mph (436km/h) 49-66ft (15-20m) above ground level.[5]
May 24, 2011	El Reno, Oklahoma	295mph (475km/h)	University of Oklahoma's RaxPol Mobile Radar captured wind gusts inside an EF5 tornado west of El Reno of 279mph (449km/h), revised to 295mph (475km/h) as it was approaching Interstate 40.
May 28, 2013	Bennington, Kansas	264mph (425km/h)	Measured around 153ft (47m) above ground by Doppler on wheels inside an EF3 rated tornado near Bennington, Kansas.
May 31, 2013	El Reno, Oklahoma	313mph (504km/h)	Scanned inside a sub-vortex near 10th Street and Radio Road by RaxPol, measuring initial wind speeds of around 296mph (476km/h). Later revised to 313mph (504km/h), with some estimates suggesting winds of up to 336mph (514km/h).[6][7] These sub-vortices would also result in the deaths of four storm chasers including the TWISTEX Team.
May 21, 2024	Greenfield, Iowa	309-318mph (497-511km/h)	Observed by Doppler on wheels while tornado was causing EF4 level damage, traversing through Greenfield. Initial wind gust estimates of 263-271mph (423-436km/h), revised to 309-318mph (497-511km/h).

Foundation slab of a home in Double Creek Estates after being obliterated by an F5 tornado.

Completely swept away home in Smithville, Mississippi after an EF5 tornado tore through town.

Damage

Date	Location	Detail
June 29, 1764	Woldgek, Germany	Destroyed a large cobblestone mansion. Completely denuded large swaths of trees as well as ground scouring.
May 15, 1896	Sherman, Texas	Destroyed an Iron-beam bridge outside of main town, scattering the iron-beams, embedding one into the ground, flattened dozens of homes, killing 73.
March 18, 1925	Missouri, Illinois, Indiana	Devastated multiple communities across three states, killing around 695 while moving at a consistent forward speed of 60mph (96km/h). Destroyed metal mine structures, tossed railroad tracks, heavily damaged schools, and destroyed dozens of homes.
June 8, 1953	Beecher, Michigan	Obliterated homes near the city of Flint in Beecher, horribly mutilating victims, tossing vehicles, denuding trees, and heavily damaging the Beecher High School.[8]
April 3, 1956	Hudsonville-Grand Rapids, Michigan	Completely swept away rows of homes down to their foundation slabs near Hudsonville, Standale, and Grand Rapids, with some of the floor tiles ripped out.[9][10]
May 11, 1970	Lubbock, Texas	Shredded homes and businesses around Lubbock, sweeping away some. Twisted the foundation of the Great Plains Life Building (Metro Tower), also ripping off some of it's exterior walls.[11] Destroyed and tossed aircrafts from an airport as well. Ted Fujita (creator of the Fujita Scale) suggested an F6 rating for this tornado, however, was downgraded to F5 due to an F6 rating being "inconceivable".
April 3, 1974	Brandenburg, Kentucky	Completely swept away and leveled homes around Brandenburg, granulating debris, producing extreme ground scouring as well.[12][13]
April 3, 1974	Xenia-Wilberforce, Ohio	Reduced entire rows of homes along the suburban areas of Xenia to their foundation slab, with intense wind-rowing of debris as well as the destruction of multiple businesses near downtown[14]. Ted Fujita assigned this tornado a preliminary F6 rating before it was downgraded to F5.[15]
April 3, 1974	Guin-Twin-Delmar, Alabama	Shredded homes, destroyed businesses, denuded trees, and mangled vehicles while moving at a forward speed of 75mph (120km/h).[16]
June 13, 1976	Jordan, Iowa	Well-built homes and farms along the small community of Jordan were obliterated. Considered by Ted Fujita as one of the most intense tornadoes he had ever surveyed.
April 4, 1977	Birmingham, Alabama	Completely granulated homes mainly along the Smithfield areas north of Birmingham. Ted Fujita also gave this tornado a preliminary rating of F6.[17]
May 27, 1997	Jarrell, Texas	Passed north of main town into the neighborhood of Double Creek Estates, completely wiping away almost every single home in the subdivision along with extreme ground scouring. Also ripping off pavement from a road. An explanation to the extreme damage cause was likely due to the incredibly slow forward speed of the tornado[18]. The community looked like it was underdeveloped after the tornado.
May 3, 1999	Amber-Bridge Creek-Moore, Oklahoma	Devastated multiple communities across Central Oklahoma with consistent F5 damage, first obliterating several well-built homes over Bridge Creek, causing extreme ground scouring, tree denuding, and vehicle mangling, continuing into Moore suburbs, causing mass destruction, killing 36 individuals.[19]
May 4, 2007	Greensburg, Kansas	Destroyed 95% of all structures all throughout Greensburg, peaking in intensity south of town where it produced cycloidal marks and swept away well-built homes. The first ever tornado rated EF5 from the newly implemented Enhanced Fujita Scale.[20][21]
June 22, 2007	Elie, Manitoba	Tossed and obliterated a well-built home while looping over the southern corner of Elie, captured from a video. Considered Canada's only F5 rated tornado.[22]
May 25, 2008	Parkersburg-New Hartford, Iowa	Completely swept away and leveled multiple well-built homes in Parkersburg and north of New Hartford, cracking concrete basements, digging up to one mile of ground scouring over rural fields.[23]
April 27, 2011	Philadelphia-Neshoba County-Kemper County, Mississippi	Formed north of main Philadelphia, abruptly intensifying to EF5 strength along MS 21, digging up to 2ft (0.6m) of soil in some areas, denuding trees as well, continuing into Kemper County where it swept away a brick home, ripped off pavement off a road, and mangled cars.[24][25]
April 27, 2011	Hackleburg-Phil Campbell-Oak Grove, Alabama	Devastated multiple communities across Alabama and Tennessee, killing 72 while sustaining EF5 damage, sweeping away multiple well-built homes across the towns of Hackleburg and Phil Campbell with catastrophic damage, ripping off the roof of a storm shelter, tearing off pavement from one road, destroying brick buildings near Oak Grove.[26][27]
April 27, 2011	Smithville, Mississippi	Caused extreme damage to the community of Smithville, first debarking large swaths of trees and digging several inches of soil outside town. It would sweep away dozens of well-built homes while travelling at a forward speed of over 60mph (96km/h). One SUV was tossed from one residence and slammed into the town's water tower, bouncing off before crashing into a field near the outskirts of town, completely crumpled. Bricks from a funeral home outside main town would be pulverized into dust.[28][29]. Another candidate for the strongest tornado.
April 27, 2011	Rainsville, Alabama	Obliterated well-constructed homes and businesses in or outside town. Stripped a school bus down to it's chassis, tossed an anchored safe, ripped off it's door as well.
May 22, 2011	Joplin-Duquesne, Missouri	Caused mass destruction and casualty across the city of Joplin. Swept away or flattened well-built suburban homes, twisted the foundation of the St. John's Regional Medical Center, destroyed multiple businesses including a Walmart, Home Depot, and Pizza Hut, accompanied by strange damage patterns, including a wooden plank seen pierced into a concrete curb, and a bank that was completely swept away except it's concrete safe vault.[30][31][32]
May 24, 2011	El Reno-Piedmont, Oklahoma	Tossed two vehicles off of Interstate 40 over a thousand feet away, killing three passengers[33]. North of the interstate, the Cactus 117 Drilling Rig (weighing two million pounds/862 metric tons) would be toppled and rolled several times. The tornado would continue sweeping away homes near Piedmont as well.[34][35]
May 20, 2013	Newcastle-Moore, Oklahoma	Immediately produced EF4 level damage shortly after forming, sweeping away homes, passing near Newcastle before hitting the Moore suburban areas, causing similar destruction and EF5 damage with the 1999 F5 tornado. Well-anchored homes would be obliterated, vehicles tossed, trees severely debarked.[36]
April 9, 2015	Rochelle-Fairdale, Illinois	Swept away or leveled several homes near the community of Rochelle, some with a high-end EF4 indicator with winds of up to 200mph (321km/h). Destroyed reinforced concrete silos from a farmstead that was obliterated, digging cycloidal mark patterns, causing more destruction to Fairdale.[37]
March 24, 2023	Rolling Fork, Mississippi	Caused destruction consistent of high-end EF4 damage in downtown Rolling Fork, toppling the town's water tower, flattening multiple businesses, including a well-constructed brick flower shop that was partially swept clean, also causing heavy vehicle damage, tree debarking, and ground scouring
May 21, 2024	Greenfield, Iowa	Shredded windmills over rural Iowa with an intense multi-vortex appearance. Destroyed more homes through Greenfield, completely sweeping away some, with parking bumps from a lot removed, and a manhole cover being tossed as well.[38]

Mass destruction to Xenia suburbs after an F5 tornado.

Estimated Wind Speeds (+300mph/482km/h)

Date	Location	Maximum Wind Speeds	Detail
June 29, 1764	Woldegk, Germany	300mph (482km/h)	Damage survey from the tornado suggests wind speeds of at least 300mph (482km/h).
March 18, 1925	Missouri, Illinois, Indiana	289-300mph (465-482km/h)	Destroyed mines and analysis reveals wind speeds of up to 289mph (465km/h), —according to Mechanical engineer Ethan Moriarty— with higher end estimates of up to 300mph (482km/h).
July 20, 1931	Lublin Voivodeship, Poland	246-336mph (395-540km/h)	Romuald Gumiński estimated dynamic pressure inside an F4 tornado that derailed a railroad car to be between 246mph-336mph (395-540km/h).
May 15, 1968	Charles City, Iowa	200-300mph (321-482km/h)	Dug deep cycloidal marks, granulated debris and shredded homes in Charles City. Initial estimates from the Weather Bureau for the cycloidal mark wind speeds reached 528mph (849km/h), later revised to 200-300mph (321-482km/h).
April 3, 1974	Xenia, Ohio	250-305mph (402-490km/h)	Ted Fujita suggested wind speeds inside the tornado of at least 305mph (490km/h) due to rows of homes being completely obliterated.
March 13, 1990	Goessel, Kansas	300-350mph (482-563km/h)	Cycloidal marks left by the tornado suggested winds of up to 350mph (563km/h) according to Ted Fujita and Thomas Grazulis.
June 8, 1995	Pampa, Texas	300-318mph (482-511km/h)	Photogrammetry of the debris orbiting around the tornado estimates suggests winds exceeding 300mph (482km/h). Considered an F6 tornado by Thomas Grazulis.