Story Smithing: Miniesode -EF Scale

What will your character learn about a tornado by looking at the damage the tornado left behind? Are brick homes safe from tornados? Why were wind engineers consulted? Find out on this episode. 

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Transcript

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What will your character learn about a tornado by looking at the damage the tornado left behind? Are break homes safe from tornadoes? Why were wind engineers consulted? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley, the fiction writer's Weekly Inspiration Station for Rule, Life, and lifestyles from historical to postapocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life. I'm Alley, and this is Minisode number 2, E. F. Scale. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong. Now, let's get into this. This many so does covering the Enhance Fujita Scale, more commonly referred to as the EF Scale. This is a scale that determines how powerful a tornado is and is an add-on from episode number 37, Tornado Weather 101. The EF scale came into being in 1971 when a group of meteorologists and wind engineers got together to determine what wind speed would cause what damage. It is believed that before this, many tornadoes were overestimated because the wind needed to take off roof was less than they believed. Hence, the EF scale was born. So without further ado, the new EF scale, EF0, is 65 to 85 miles per hour and does minor damage. This includes shingles being blown off the roofs, damage to gutters or siding, tree limbs are broken and shallow-rooted trees can be knocked over. Ef1, 36 to 110 miles per hour and does moderate damage. This includes broken windows, damage to exterior doors or significant roof damage to homes with foundations, flipping mobile homes over or severely damaging mobile homes. Ef2, 111 to 135 miles per hour and does considerable damage. This can be fully tearing off roofs, move homes from their foundation, obliterate mobile homes, can snap large trees, and pick up cars off the road. Ef3, 136 to 165 miles per hour and causes severe damage. This includes taking the top story of multi-story homes or buildings off, causing significant damage to large structures, weak foundation homes can be blown away and the bark can be ripped off of trees. As someone who lives in Tornado Alley, I did not know that. I was always told that the EF5 was what ripped the bark off the trees. I learned something new. Ef4, 166 to 200 miles per hour and does extremely stream damage. This can level well-built homes, throw cars like kids' toys, and topple stone and mason walls. An EF5 is 200 miles per hour or greater and does massive damage. These can destroy steel-reinforced concrete, level homes to the foundation, do severe damage to high-rise buildings, strip all of the bark and branches off of trees, or even snap large trees off at the base. Now for everyone's favorite part, what could possibly go wrong. Likely to go wrong. Your character is hit by an EF1 tornado, and it takes large chunks of the roof off. Possible to go wrong. Your character is driving in a dark storm. Unknown to them, they're driving straight into an EF2 tornado. When they drive into it, it picks the car up and tosses it several feet. This would be scary, would likely be painful, and could be deadly. Unlikely to go wrong. Your character took cover in a still reinforced concrete storm shelter when the tornado sirens went off. Unfortunately for them, an EF5 tornado hits the storm shelter and collapses the walls in on them. This would be scary on a good day and could be deadly. Thanks for listening. Until next time. Happy wordsmithing.