EF5 tornado that killed 3 in North Dakota was the nation's first in 12 years

A deadly tornado that tore across southeastern North Dakota this summer has been upgraded to an EF5 with winds topping 200 mph (322 kph), the strongest classification of tornado and the first confirmed on American soil in a dozen years, meteorologists said Monday.

The June 20 twister near the town of Enderlin killed three people and at its largest was 1.05 miles wide (1.7 kilometers), carving a path across the prairie for just over 12 miles (19 kilometers). Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks estimated the tornado's winds reached 210 mph (338 kph), according to the newly released analysis.

The 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado in Oklahoma holds the record of the strongest winds ever recorded in the U.S. at 321 mph (517 kph).

Since the National Weather Service began using Enhanced Fujita scale in 2007, there have been 10 tornadoes categorized as EF5. The 12-year gap between top-of-the-scale ratings is the longest since the agency started keeping records in 1950. The earlier tornadoes were assessed using an older version of the EF scale called the Fujita scale.

“In the last kind of 12 years, there’s been several strong tornadoes that have come close, but there haven’t been known damage indicators at that time to support the EF5 rating,” said Melinda Beerends, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Grand Forks.

“It’s hard sometimes to get tornadoes to hit something,” she said.

The morning after the EF5 tornado, meteorologists from the Grand Forks office headed into the field to assess the damage. They studied how the twister had uprooted trees, tipped over fully loaded rail cars, toppled transmission towers and destroyed farmsteads, including one that had its foundation swept clean with just the basement remaining.

“The city of Enderlin, other than losing power, pretty much went unscathed,” said Mayor Deon Maasjo. Two men and a woman were killed at two locations east of the town, which is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Fargo.

Determining a tornado's strength usually takes days or weeks, as meteorologists study the damage to buildings and trees. This case took much longer because of the unusual damage to rail cars, including one that was picked up and hurled far from the rest. The meteorologists worked with engineers and wind damage experts to conduct additional surveys and forensic analysis to determine the EF5 rating, up from the initial estimate of EF3.

The tornado was caused by warm, moist air in a place that's ripe for a thunderstorm, Beerends said. But there was also a high amount of wind shear, which is a variation of wind speed and direction that created the conditions for the tornado.

In recent years, tornadoes have been occurring with greater frequency east of the Mississippi River, said Victor Gensini, professor of atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University.

“If you look 40 to 50 years ago, the tornadoes that were happening in places like Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas are kind of happening there with less frequency, and we’re seeing more tornadoes in places like Birmingham, Little Rock and Memphis,” he said.

Though meteorologists aren’t sure what’s causing the trend, the higher frequency of tornadoes in the Mid-South and Midwest is notable because it’s closer to population centers, Gensini said, so there’s a greater chance a tornado may hit something.

The last recorded EF5 tornado was on May 20, 2013, in a town outside Oklahoma City, killing 24 people and injuring more than 200 others. That tornado tore through hundreds of homes, a school, hospital and bowling alley in Moore, where nearly a decade later, droves of moviegoers lined up to watch the 2024 film “Twisters.”

A home's exterior is damaged on June 25, 2025 following an EF5 tornado in Enderlin, N.D. (North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)

A building sits damaged in Enderlin, N.D. on June 25, 2025, from the high winds of the EF5 tornado on June 20. (North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)

Many trees are stripped and uprooted on June 25, 2025 following the EF5 tornado in Enderlin, N.D. (North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong speaks with homeowner Tyler Pfaff while surveying tornado damage on June 25, 2025, in Enderlin, N.D. (North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong walks by silos damaged by an EF5 tornado in Enderlin, N.D., on June 25, 2025. (North Dakota Governor's Office via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Sunday it rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as President Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with a new looming deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran showed no signs of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries.

The airman’s extraction followed a U.S. search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot.” Trump said he was injured but in stable condition.

“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote on social media.

A second crew member was rescued earlier.

The fighter jet was the first American aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, striking Iran on Feb. 28. The war has since killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.

Trump said last week that the U.S. had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.” Two days later, Iran shot down two U.S. military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.

As Iran continues to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, Trump, in a weekend social media post, threatened to unleash “all Hell” if it isn’t opened by Monday. He has issued such threats before and extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war on agreeable terms.

The other jet to go down was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.

On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of American aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising into the air. The broadcaster said Iran had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

Iran’s military joint command on Sunday claimed that four U.S. aircraft were destroyed during the rescue operation and warned of stepping up retaliatory attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel attacked such targets in the Islamic Republic, according to state television.

“We once again repeat: if you commit aggression again and strike civilian facilities, our responses will be more forceful,” a spokesman said in comments run by IRNA news agency.

In Kuwait, Iranian drone attacks caused significant damage to power plants and a petrochemical plant. They also put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity. No injuries were reported, the ministry said.

In Bahrain, a drone attack caused a fire at one of the national oil company’s storage facilities and a state-run petrochemical plant, the kingdom’s official news agency said.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to fires at a petrochemical plant in Ruwais that they said were caused by intercepted debris, halting operations.

The strikes came a day after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue that it had used to fund the war.

The petrochemical industry is a key sector in many Gulf states. Plants in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Iran convert oil and gas into products like plastics, polymers and fertilizer, bringing in billions in export revenue.

Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face consequences, writing Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”

The waterway is a critical chokepoint for commerical trade, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.

“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.

The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.

This report has been corrected to show that Borealis is an Austrian company, not Australian.

Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Vehicles and motorcycles move past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting the American aircrafts into the Iranian armed forces fishing net with signs that read in Farsi: "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, The entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground," at the Eqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, black smoke rises into the air at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site where an American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation were shot down, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)