F0 denotes wind speeds of 40 to 72 mph; F1, 73 to 112 mph; F2, 113 to 157 mph; F3, 158 to 206 mph; F4, 207 to 260 mph; F5, 261 to 318 mph; and F6, 319 to 379 mph.

F4 Category Tornado Devastating Tornado. Devastating damage: Well constructed homes leveled; structures with weak foundations blown off some distance; cars thrown and disintegrated; large missiles generated; trees in forest uprooted and carried some distance away.

300 mph

Tri-State Tornado

Dust devils typically do not cause injuries, but rare, severe dust devils have caused damage and even deaths in the past. Several injuries were reported, but there were no fatalities.

Dust devils are related to tornadoes, but do not form the same way. Dust devils form when hot air near the surface rises quickly through a small pocket of cooler, low-pressure air above it. If conditions are just right, the air will begin to rotate. They can be powerful, but not as powerful as tornadoes.

Rope tornadoes Rope tornadoes are some of the smallest and most common types of tornadoes, getting their name from their rope-like appearance. Most tornadoes begin and end their life cycle as a rope tornado before growing into a larger twister or dissipating into thin air.

While fire tornadoes are rare they aren’t completely unheard of, especially on the West Coast. Extreme heat from wildfires can sometimes form pyrocumulonimbus clouds which happens when hot air rapidly rises tens of thousands of feet in the air.

Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water, or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado. They are associated with severe thunderstorms, and are often accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail, and frequent dangerous lightning.

Fire tornadoes are rare, but not unheard of. Increased awareness surrounding their occurrence in recent years suggests they may be more common than originally thought.

Has there ever been a tornado touchdown during a blizzard or a snowstorm? One such twister was an F2 storm that killed two and injured 12 near Altus, Okla., on Feb. 22, 1975. Tornadoes have also occurred with snow on the ground during warm-ups when pre-existing snowpacks have not melted.

A rainbow and tornado were spotted beside one another by storm chasers in Vernon, Texas, near the Oklahoma border. While a rainbow usually signifies a clearing at the end of a storm, seeing the rainbow under dark skies — and a tornado — was a sight worthy of many social media posts, The Washington Post reported.

During the Carr Fire, the pyrocumulonimbus cloud that formed stretched in size from 3.7 to 7.5 miles in just 15 minutes. As it did so, the fire vortex went from its infancy to a monstrosity, with its winds rapidly intensifying as it reached more than 3.2 miles into the air.

On July 26, the fire jumped the Sacramento River, making its way into the city of Redding, causing the evacuation of 38,000 people….

This large whirl was estimated to have killed 38,000 people in less than 15 minutes. Other massive urban fire whirls were reported during the World War II city bombings of Hamburg, Dresden, and Hiroshima.

Investigators said the fire was caused by a mechanical failure on the passenger side of a travel trailer. The reports specifically say the fire started as a result of a malfunctioning tire or wheel assembly on the passenger side of the trailer.

39 days

The Carr Fire cost over $1.659 billion (2018) in damages, including $1.5 billion in insured losses and more than $158.7 million in suppression costs.

July 23, 2018 – The Carr Fire ignited near the Carr Powerhouse Road along Highway 299 in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

Tires are not prone to self-ignition, as a tire must be heated to at least 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit) for a period of several minutes prior to ignition. Extinguishing tire fires is difficult.

November 8, 2018, 5:33 AM PST

Basic Information