This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F4, EF4, IF4, or an equivalent rating. These scales â the Fujita scale, the Enhanced Fujita scale, the International Fujita scale, and the TORRO tornado intensity scale â attempt to estimate the intensity of a tornado by classifying the damage caused to natural features and man-made structures in the tornado's path.
Tornadoes are among the most violent known meteorological phenomena. Each year, more than 2,000 tornadoes are recorded worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in North America and Europe. In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum wind speeds within tornadic storms based on the damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. The scale ranks tornadoes from F0 to F5, with F0 being the least intense and F5 being the most intense. F4 tornadoes were estimated to have had maximum winds between and .
Following two particularly devastating tornadoes in 1997 and 1999, engineers questioned the reliability of the Fujita scale. Ultimately, a new scale was devised that took into account 28 different damage indicators; this became known as the Enhanced Fujita scale. With building design and structural integrity taken more into account, winds in an EF4 tornado were estimated to between and . The Enhanced Fujita scale is used predominantly in North America. Most of Europe, on the other hand, uses the TORRO tornado intensity scale (or T-Scale), which ranks tornado intensity between T0 and T11; F4/EF4 tornadoes are approximately equivalent to T8 to T9 on the T-Scale. Tornadoes rated IF4 on the International Fujita scale are also included on this list.
The most recent F4/EF4 tornado occurred on November 7, 2025, which impacted Guarapuava, Brazil.
The National Weather Service in the United States did not rate any tornadoes prior to 1950. Other organizations like the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on the other hand, did rate tornadoes prior to 1950. The only violent tornado that impacted the United States prior to 1950 and has an official rating is the 1946 WindsorâÂÂTecumseh tornado, which received a rating from ECCC. However, the impact to the United States remains officially unrated.
title=Cape Girardeau Tornado â 1949
June 3, 1980 â Vandergrift, Pennsylvania United States â One of the most violent tornadoes of the Grand Island, Nebraska tornado outbreak, occurring near Vandergrift. Caused $6,000,000 in damage and injured 140 people.
April 2, 1982 â Paris, Texas, United States â F4 tornado in Paris, Texas, resulted in 10 fatalities and 170 injuries. Deadliest during the outbreak that also featured an F5 tornado over Oklahoma.
May 31, 1985 â Albion, Pennsylvania, United States â Many homes in town were completely leveled and 12 people were killed.
May 31, 1985 â Barrie, Ontario, Canada â A short-lived, but devastating and violent F4 tornado affected the City of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, causing 8 fatalities, 155 injuries, and $150 million CAD in damages.
May 31, 1985 â Atlantic, Pennsylvania, United States â One of the deadliest in the outbreak, killing 16. Atlantic was particularly hard hit from this tornado.
May 22, 1987 â Saragosa, Texas, United States â Mass casualties occurred in only a few structures. Homes and businesses were destroyed, and thirty were killed. The deadliest of the year.
July 31, 1987 â Edmonton, Alberta, Canada â also known as Black Friday. Hit the city of Edmonton at F4 strength before impacting the Evergreen Mobile Home Park where a dozen casualties were located. The second deadliest tornado of Canadian history with 27 deaths.
November 15, 1989 â Huntsville, Alabama, United States Also known as the Airport Road tornado, it took a total of 21 lives and 463 were injured. 12 of the deaths occurred in vehicles.
Because the distinctions between tornadoes ratings are often ambiguous, the official ratings of numerous other tornadoes formally rated below F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent have been disputed, with certain government sources or independent studies contradicting the official record. This list includes tornadoes rated F4/EF4/IF4 or equivalent by government meteorologists, non-government tornado experts (i.e. Thomas P. Grazulis or Ted Fujita) or meteorological research institutions (i.e. European Severe Storms Laboratory) that rated a tornado differently than the official government organization in charge of the rating. Published academic papers or presentations at academically held meteorological conferences that rate tornadoes as F4/EF4/IF4 or present some evidence to support damage or winds in that category are also ways a tornado can be added to this list.
Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis gave F4 ratings to 48 tornadoes that occurred in the United States in the 1870s.
Grazulis gave F4 ratings to 70 tornadoes that occurred in the United States in the 1880s, and noted one other tornado that might have caused F4 damage.