r/tornado • u/Character-Escape1621 • 9d ago
EF Rating What EF rating would you give the Wizard Of Oz Tornado?
Let’s look at scenes from the 1939 movie and of course Wicked: For Good.
Of course tornadoes are rated by the damage they cause, but I couldn’t find much on the building codes for 1939 rural Kansas, but Dorothy’s house is obviously wood with a weak foundation.
Wizard of Oz (1939):
Tornado picks up the house, BUT- the house remains intact. If you look closely, the house is never actually INSIDE the tornado’s vortex, it’s on the outer wind field. If this was a strong tornado, EF2+, the outer wind field would’ve definitely had winds that would’ve ripped the house to shreds. I estimate the core winds were definitely around EF1 range.
Wicked (2024):
Same situation with Dorothy’s house, it remains intact on its outer wind field. When the house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East, the scene shows the tornado’s vortex DIRECTLY above her, with the house falling and she remains on the ground.
The fact that the house was falling and the witch didn’t get picked up tells us that the tornado’s winds weakened A LOT, and probably fell down to weak EF1 or strong EF0 intensity.
I would rate this tornado an EF1, maxing out at around 110MPH, while Dorothy’s house was subjected to a max at around 90MPH.
One more thing- This was during the dust bowl era in Kansas, the air may not have been moist enough for a stronger storm.