How do tornado's vary in type and strength?

Answer:
Tornadoes are divided into six categories of strength on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. In this scale damage is used to estimate a tornado's wind speed and that estimate is used to rate the tornado. Here are the categories with their corresponding wind estimates:
EF0: 65-85 mph (105-137 km/h)
EF1: 86-110 mph (138-177 km/h)
EF2: 111-135 mph (178-217 km/h)
EF3: 136-165 mph (218-266 km/h)
EF4: 166-200 mph (267-323 km/h)
EF5: over 200 mph (over 323 km/h)
The majority of tornadoes are rated EF0 or EF1, while the most damage and fatalities result from tornadoes rated EF3 and higher (the strongest 5% of tornadoes). On very rare occasions winds in a tornado can exceed 300 mph (480 km/h).

There are two main types of tornadoes: supercell tornadoes, which make up the majority of tornadoes and landspouts/waterspouts. Supercell tornadoes are generally the strong ones while landspouts and waterspouts don't usually exceed EF0 strength, though they have on occasion done EF3 damage.
First answer by Stormish. Last edit by Stormish. Contributor trust: 533 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 37 [recommend question].