A tornado is seen at peak intensity in Plevna, Kansas. (Matthew Cappucci/MyRadar)

By Matthew Cappucci

The National Weather Service has determined that the family of tornadoes that tore through south-central Kansas on Sunday night were all rated EF3s on the Enhanced Fujita scale. Five main tornadoes hit over a span of 2 hours 56 minutes.

The scale uses damage as a proxy for tornado strength and ranks tornadoes from a 0 (weakest) to 5 (catastrophic). But because the scale measures damage, it means that even if the swarm of tornadoes likely had stronger winds, perhaps at times approaching 200 mph, the most severe damage was commensurate with winds in the EF3 range. EF3 tornadoes harbor winds of 136 mph to 165 mph.

Assigning ratings can be challenging when strong tornadoes pass through sp

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