AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 12-year "drought" of EF5 tornadoes has ended, after the National Weather Service upgraded a tornado in North Dakota to EF5 status.
The tornado touched down near Enderlin, North Dakota, on June 20 and was initially rated EF3. The NWS office in Grand Forks upgraded the tornado to EF5 Monday, marking the first such tornado in the country since 2013.
Tornadoes are rated using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which estimates wind speeds based on the amount of damage caused. EF5 tornadoes have estimated wind speeds of 201 mph or greater. The Enderlin tornado had maximum wind speeds "greater than 210 mph," the NWS said.
"In the last kind of 12 years, there's been several strong tornadoes that have come close, but there haven't been known damage indicators at that time to support th