Agreed, both with this post and your prior one. When taking a holistic approach, I can only think the tornado was firmly of EF5 level - the railway cars thrown, the denuding and debarking of trees, the trenching ground scouring and scouring of grass (and some soil), the asphalt scouring, the wind rowing, the debris granulation, the partially fractured slab, the homes which were well built (just no exceptionally so) that were swept clean.
In my opinion, no "normal" EF4 does this kind of damage. While I can understand not giving the tornado the EF5 rating in today's very high and scrutinized, engineering-centric standard (which are not necessarily bad things), I think it says a lot about how much the application of the scale has changed that this kind of tornado doesn't receive the highest rating. Would have easily been an F5 pre 2000, I think.
Obviously, the 11mph difference in the rating makes no difference to the horrific impacts this tornado brought, and I am not trying to assert that is the most important aspect of this tornado that needs discussing - but doesn't mean its not worth discussing. Hope all the communities impacted are doing as well as they can be.
