View source for List of tornado records

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|+ style="text-align: center; color: black; font-size: 150%;" | Top 10 of the strongest tornadic wind speeds ever recorded
|-
! scope="col" style="width:1%; text-align: center;" | Rank
! scope="col" style="width:4%; text-align: center;" class="unsortable" |Official rating
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" |Date
! scope="col" style="width:15%; text-align: center;" class="unsortable" |Location
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" | Minimum peak wind speed
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" |Maximum peak wind speed
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" |Highest confirmed peak wind speed
|-
!1
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|cat5}};" |'''F5'''
|May 3, 1999
|Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
|
{{convert|281|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|321|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| '''{{convert|321|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | In 2007, Joshua Wurman along with other researchers, published that a Doppler on Wheels recorded {{convert|135|m/s|mph km/h|abbr=on}} approximately {{convert|32|m|ft}} above the radar level. In 2021, Wurman along with other researchers, revised the data using improved techniques and published that the Doppler on Wheels actually recorded {{convert|321|mph|km/h}} in the tornado.
|-
!2
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|March 21, 2025
| Mankato, Minnesota
|
{{convert|288|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|342|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|'''{{convert|315|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The first wind speed was measured in Rapidan, Minnesota as the tornado was approaching the Rapidan Dam. The measured wind speed via Doppler on Wheels was estimated at {{convert|288|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. However, as the tornado was destroying the Walmart Supercenter located on Madison Avenue in Mankato, Minnesota, another Doppler on Wheels measured peak wind speeds in the tornado was estimated at {{convert|342|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. This is a historic feat, as this tornado would surpass the Bridge Creek-Moore tornado of 1999 to become the fastest wind speed measured on Earth. However, they didn't have a direct accuracy and due to the amount of devastation in the city, the NWS went with the median measurement of {{convert|315|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.
|-
!3
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF3}};" |'''EF3'''
|May 31, 2013
|El Reno, Oklahoma
|
{{convert|291|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|336|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|'''{{convert|313|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A Doppler on Wheels recorded winds between {{convert|257|-|336|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at or less than {{convert|100|m|ft}} above the radar level in a suction vortex inside the tornado. This was later revised by the Doppler on Wheels team to {{convert|291|-|336|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. In 2015, Howard Bluestein, along with other researchers, reported that the radar did capture at least a moment of winds of {{convert|313|mph|km/h}}.
|-
!4
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF4}};" |'''EF4'''
|May 21, 2024
|Greenfield, Iowa
|{{convert|309|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|318|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| '''≥{{convert|309|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | A Doppler on Wheels recorded winds of {{convert|263|-|271|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} approximately {{convert|30|-|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the radar level. Following calculations to more accurately determine peak wind speeds, it was published that ground-relative winds of {{convert|309|-|318|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} could be observed briefly to the immediate east of the main circulation.
|-
!5
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|May 24, 2011
| Hinton, Oklahoma
|{{convert|289|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|296|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|'''{{convert|295.5|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |RaXPol recorded a wind gust of {{convert|124.8|m/s|mph km/h|abbr=on}} about {{convert|60-70|m|ft|order=flip}} above the radar level.
|-
!6
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|cat4}};" |'''F4'''
|April 26, 1991
|Ceres, Oklahoma
|
{{convert|268|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|280|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
| '''{{convert|280|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A University of Oklahoma chase team headed by Howard Bluestein utilized mobile doppler weather radar to analyze the tornado. The radar measured peak winds of {{convert|120|–|125|m/s|mph km/h|abbr=on}} between {{convert|150|-|190|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the surface.
|-
!7
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF2}};" |'''EF2'''
|June 5, 2009
|Goshen County, Wyoming
| {{N/A}}<!--{{convert|0|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}-->
| {{N/A}}<!--{{convert|0|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}-->
|'''{{convert|271|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A Doppler on Wheels observed the entire lifecycle of an EF2 tornado in Goshen County, Wyoming. The radar also observed a peak wind speed of {{convert|271|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|-|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the ground level.
|-
!8
|style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|cat4}};" |'''F4'''
|May 30, 1998
|Spencer, South Dakota
|
{{convert|234|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|266|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|'''{{convert|264|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A Doppler on Wheels recorded winds of {{convert|264|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} "well below" {{convert|50|m|ft}} above the ground level, "perhaps as low as {{convert|5|-|10|m|ft}} above the radar level".
|-
!9
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF3}};" |'''EF3'''
|May 28, 2013
|Bennington, Kansas
| {{N/A}}<!--{{convert|0|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}-->
| {{N/A}}<!--{{convert|0|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}-->
|'''{{convert|264|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A Doppler on Wheels recorded winds of {{convert|264|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} approximately {{convert|153|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the ground level.
|-
!10
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|cat4}};" |'''F4'''
|May 3, 1999
|Mulhall, Oklahoma
|
{{convert|246|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|299|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}
|'''{{convert|257|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="7" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |A Doppler on Wheels documented the largest-ever-observed core flow circulation with a distance of {{convert|abbr=on|1600|m}} between peak velocities on either side of the tornado, and a roughly {{convert|abbr=on|7|km}} width of peak wind gusts exceeding {{convert|abbr=on|43|m/s|mph}}, making the Mulhall tornado the largest tornado ever measured quantitatively. Several vortices contained winds of up to {{convert|abbr=on|115|m/s|mph}} rotating around the tornado. The 3D structure of the tornado has been analyzed in a 2005 article in the ''Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences'' by Wen-Chau Lee and Joshua Wurman.
|}

During the F5 in the southern Oklahoma City metro area, a Doppler on Wheels situated near the tornado measured winds of {{convert|301|+/-|20|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} momentarily in a small area inside the funnel approximately {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} above ground level.

On May 31, 2013, a tornado hit rural areas near El Reno, Oklahoma. The tornado was originally rated as an EF3 based on damage; however, after mobile radar data analysis was conducted, it was concluded to have been an EF5 due to a measured wind speed of greater than {{convert|296|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, second only to the Bridge Creek–Moore tornado. Revised RaXPol analysis found winds of {{convert|302|+/-|34|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} well above ground level and ≥{{convert|291|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} below {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} with some subvortices moving at {{convert|175|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. These winds may possibly be as high or higher than the winds recorded on May&nbsp;3, 1999. Despite the recorded windspeed, the El Reno tornado was later downgraded back to EF3 due to the fact that no EF5 damage was found, likely due to the lack of sufficient damage indicators in the largely-rural area west of Oklahoma City.

During the Greenfield, Iowa EF4 on May 21, 2024, Doppler on Wheels recorded wind speeds of {{Convert|263–271|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in a very small swath inside the funnel approximately {{Convert|100-106|ft|m|abbr=on}} above radar level as the tornado went through town. After doing some mathematical and physics-based calculations, the researchers determined those measured winds were equivalent to {{Convert|309–318|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. The calculated, not measured, minimum wind threshold as stated beats both the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado and the 2013 El Reno, Oklahoma tornado for minimum possible maximum windspeed; however, the highest confirmed peak windspeeds are lower than the 1999 tornado.

Winds were measured at {{convert|262|-|280|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} using portable Doppler weather radar in the Red Rock, Oklahoma, tornado during the April 26, 1991, tornado outbreak in north-central Oklahoma. Though these winds are possibly indicative of F5 intensity, this particular tornado's path never encountered any significant structures and caused minimal damage, so it was rated F4.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|+ style="text-align: center; color: black;  font-size: 150%;" |Top 10 costliest tornadoes on record
|-
! scope="col" style="width:1%; text-align: center;" | Rank
! scope="col" style="width:4%; text-align: center;" class="unsortable" |Official rating
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" |Date
! scope="col" style="width:15%; text-align: center;" class="unsortable" |Tornado Name
! scope="col" style="width:5%; text-align: center;" |Cost (USD)
|-
!1
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|March 21, 2025
| Southern Minnesota tornado
|'''$4,500,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The [[2025 Southern Minnesota tornado|Southern Minnesota EF5]] is the costliest tornado of all time in the United States. Damages were estimated at 4.5 billion dollars as the tornado went through the heart of Mankato, a city in Southern Minnesota. The most notable location that was impacted was Minnesota State University (MSU) with damages ranging near $1-2 billion in the area alone.
|-
!2
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
| May 22, 2011
|Joplin tornado
|'''$2,800,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The Joplin Missouri EF5 tornado was widely known for being the costliest tornado in U.S. history until 2025. This tornado would tear through the heart of Joplin, forming right outside of town and dissipating right after it left. Causing it's worst damage in the center of Joplin.
|-
!3
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|March 21, 2025
|Mankato tornado
|'''$2,600,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" | The [[2025 Mankato tornado|2025 Mankato tornado]] was a deadly and catastrophic tornado that tore through the densely populated areas of North Mankato, and the very business populated Mankato. This tornado would completely destroy River Hills Mall on Madison Avenue, being one of the biggest contributors to the immense cost and damage.
|-
!4
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|May 11, 2030
|Moore tornado
|'''$2,500,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The [[2030 Moore tornado|tornado]] that impacted Moore, Oklahoma on May 11, 2030 was a deadly, and catastrophic monster which rapidly strengthened and widened over the city. This tornado racked up damages by impacting the densely populated suburbs of southern Moore. The most catastrophic feats of damage occurred near I-35 where EF5 damage would be surveyed.
|-
!5
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF4}};" |'''EF4'''
|April 27, 2011
|Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado
|'''$2,450,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The tornado that struck Tuscaloosa and Birmingham on April 27, 2011 was a deadly and strong EF4. Heading through 2 huge cities, this tornado would rack up damage totals hitting houses and commercial buildings.
|-
!6
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|May 20, 2013
|Newcastle-Moore tornado
|'''$2,000,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The May 20, 2013 Moore EF5 is considered infamous because of the saying: "This is May 3rd all over again...". However, this tornado tore through densely populated areas of Southern Oklahoma City, mainly Moore. Causing immense damage to the city.
|-
!7
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF4}};" |'''EF4'''
|March 21, 2025
|New Ulm tornado
|'''$1,650,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The [[2025 New Ulm tornado|2025 New Ulm tornado]] was a deadly EF4 tornado that struck the town of New Ulm on the night of March 21, 2025. This tornado would cause extreme damage in downtown, which was many commercial and expensive built structures.
|-
!8
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF3}};" |'''EF3'''
|March 3, 2020
|Nashville tornado
|'''$1,600,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The Nashville EF3 on March 3, 2020 was a dark and a nightmare scenario tornado. This tornado would form directly over Nashville and intensified quickly. Hitting the commercial areas of Nashville, this tornado would knock out power and destroy many businesses.
|-
!9
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF3}};" |'''EF3'''
|October 20, 2019
|Dallas tornado
|'''$1,550,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The tornado that struck North Dallas on October 20, 2019 was a rare and late year tornado. The Northern sections of Dallas would suffer heavy damage, mainly well constructed residential areas and some businesses.
|-
!10
| style="text-align: center; background-color:#{{#invoke:Storm categories|color|EF5}};" |'''EF5'''
|April 27, 2011
|Hackleburg-Phil Campbell tornado
|'''$1,290,000,000 USD'''
|- class="expand-child"
| colspan="6" style=" border-bottom: 1px solid black;" |The EF5 tornado which struck the main cities of Hackleburg and Phil Campbell on April 27, 2011 was apart of the 2011 Super Outbreak. Being the strongest tornado of the outbreak, this tornado would carve scars and trenches in the dirt, and obliterate the 2 cities.
|-
|}