Tornadoes strike in many shapes, sizes, and most importantly, strengths. Sixty-nine percent of all tornadoes are weak; these tornadoes have a short lifespan of less than 20 minutes, wind speeds of less than 110 miles per hour (mph), and account for less than five percent of all tornado deaths. Approximately, twenty-nine percent of all tornadoes are strong; these tornadoes tend to last over 20 minutes, have wind speeds of 110-205 mph and account for 30% of all tornado deaths. The worst tornadoes are classified as violent, and although only two percent of tornadoes are classified this way they account for seventy percent of all tornado deaths since they have wind speeds of over 200 mph and lifespans of over an hour (Tornadoes….Nature’s Most Violent
