PELLA — The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Pella was an EF3 packing winds of more than 140 mph.
The announcement was made Friday afternoon after damage assessment teams spent part of the day in Pella. Tornadoes are rated based on damage on a scale of EF0 to EF5. The rating makes the tornado the strongest in Iowa this year, pending confirmation of the strength of a tornado that hit Marshalltown.
A tornado rated at EF0 has winds of 65-85 mph. An EF3, such as the tornado that hit Vermeer in Pella, has winds of 136-164 mph. At the top of the scale an EF5 has winds of more than 200 mph.
The vast majority of tornadoes are on the lower end of the scale. More than 90 percent of the tornadoes in Iowa over the past decade have been EF2 or lower.
Since 2008, only 11 tornadoes out of a total of 484 in Iowa have been EF3 or greater. The Pella tornado is the first one to reach that rating since 2015.
by Matt Milner (2018, July 20) Ottumwa Courier
