A devastating outbreak of tornadoes occurred Tuesday in five southern states. More than fifty people were killed, making it the nation's deadliest occurrence of tornadoes in more than twenty years.

Damage is still being analyzed but preliminary reports estimate the storms to have wind speeds between 111 and 165mph. Tornadoes are rated using the Enhanced Fujita Scale. This is an analysis of the severity and type of damage done by the storms. The scale goes from zero to five with five assessing winds of more than 200mph.