First EF5 Tornado in 12 Years Confirmed in North Dakota

For the first time in over 12 years, an EF5 category tornado, the highest intensity, had not been recorded in the territory of the United States. And now, the U.S. National Weather Service recently conducted an in-depth analysis of all data regarding the tornado recorded in Enderlin, North Dakota, on June 20 and raised its category to EF5. Levon Azizyan, Director of the "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO, wrote about this on his social media page.

According to specialists' assessments, the maximum wind speed reached 338 km/h (94 m/s) as the tornado passed through Ransom and Cass counties, causing the deaths of three people. Why was the report published almost four months after the tornado struck North Dakota? "Every time after a tornado report, the meteorological service sends a team of meteorologists to the scene, who assess the damage and determine whether it corresponds to the destruction caused by a tornado, and if so, to which category on the Fujita scale.

That process often takes several days or weeks, but sometimes, as in this case, it can take months," wrote Azizyan. For the final assessment, the National Service involved a team of engineers and scientists who documented the lifting of a railway car about 150 meters, as well as the overturning of wagons fully loaded with grain. This corresponds to the wind speed of an EF5 category tornado.