What are the most severe tornadoes from 1989-1999?

Answer 1

The most significant tornadoes of 1989-1999 are:

• The Huntsville, Alabama F4 tornado of November 15, 1989. This tornado killed 21 people, injured over 450, and cost tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars.
• The Plainfield, Illinois F5 tornado of August 28, 1990, which killed 29 people and injured 350. It was a rare event for August.
• The Andover, Kansas F5 tornado of April 26, 1991 which killed 17 people, injured over 200, and cost $200 million.
• The Red Rock, Oklahoma tornado of April 26, 1991. Despite having an official rating of F4, this tornado likely hit F5 strength at some point and was possibly stronger than the Andover tornado, but such a rating could not be assigned because it tore across open country and cause little damage.
• The Piedmont, Alabama F4 tornado of March 27, 1994. This tornado tracked 50 miles across parts of Alabama, killing 22 and injuring 150, costing tens of millions of dollars.
• The Jarrell, Texas F5 tornado of May 27, 1997. This extremely violenbt tornado completely obliterate a subdivision in Jarrell, stripping away homes, trees, grass, streets, and over a foot of topsoil. In all the tornado killed 27 people, injured 12 (owing to a low survival rate), and cost $40 million. The destruction was the most complete ever surveyed, indicating that this was perhaps the most violent tornado ever recorded. The impact would have been much worse had this tornado hit a community larger than tiny Jarrell.
• The Birmingham, Alabama F5 tornado of April 8, 1998. This violent tornado struck suburbs on the north side of Birmingham, killing 32 people and injuring over 250. Damage totaled to $200 million.
• The Oklahoma City F5 tornado of May 3, 1999. This mile wide tornado tore through the suburbs of Oklahoma City, killing 36 people and injuring nearly 600. Damage totaled to $1 billion, making it, at the time, the costliest tornado in U.S. history, though it would be surpassed in 2011. Doppler radar measure winds in this tornado at over 300 mph, leading many to falsely believe that this tornado was an F6.

Answer 2

The highest winds ever recorded in a tornado were 302 mph in the F5 tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area on May 3, 1999. However, less than 1% of tornadoes actually have their winds measured so other tornadoes that didn't have such measurements were likely stronger.

The most intense tornado damage ever recorded was in Jarrell, Texas on May 27, 1997. This F5 tornado completely obliterated a subdivision, blowing away homes, trees, grass, streets, driveways, and up to 18 inches of topsoil. The debris found was finely granulated.

Answer 3

The most powerful tornadoes are those rated F5 or EF5.