List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes

Among the most violent known meteorological events are tornadoes. Each year, more than 2,000 tornadoes occur worldwide, with the vast majority occurring in the United States and Europe. In order to assess the intensity of these events, meteorologist Ted Fujita devised a method to estimate maximum winds within the storm based on damage caused; this became known as the Fujita scale. At the top end of the scale, which ranks from 0 to 5, are F5 tornadoes. These storms were estimated to have had winds in excess of 261 mph (420 km/h). Following two particularly devastating tornadoes in 1997 and 1999, engineers questioned the reliability of the 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 designs taken more into account, winds in an EF5 tornado were estimated to be in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h).

In 2017 a rewrite of the Enhanced Fujita Scale took place which allowed for recorded wind speeds and non-conventional damage indicators to factor into a tornado's rating. Consequently, subsequent years saw an increase in the number of officially rated EF5 tornadoes. Prior to the rewrite, on average less than one F5 or EF5 tornado was recorded per year; due to more inclusive rating systems, the average following the Enhanced Fujita scale rewrite increased to around 2.5 EF5 tornadoes per year.