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Hurricane categories can’t predict everything about a storm, but categories do give an indication of how a hurricane will affect people and property in its path. Here’s what you need to...
The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds.
Hurricanes Ian, Harvey, Maria, Katrina, and Camille all got high category ratings on the Saffir-Simpson scale. But what does that mean?
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale estimates potential property damage. While all hurricanes produce life-threatening winds, hurricanes rated Category 3 and higher are known as major hurricanes*.
See the potential damage associated with each category part of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
The categories are defined by wind speed, with a storm of Category 3, 4, or 5 considered a major hurricane. And damage is exponential as wind speed increases, meaning a strong Category 3...
The Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale ranks hurricanes on their wind speeds. It does not measure a hurricane's potential for storm surge, rainfall or tornadoes.
Learn more about the different categories of hurricane in the descriptions below. Category 5: A Catastrophic Hurricane. Winds: greater than 155 mph, 135 kts, 249 km/h. Minimum surface pressure: lower than 920 mbar. Storm surge: higher than 18 ft, 5.6m.
Hurricanes are split into five categories based on the wind speeds they produce: Category 1: winds between 74 m.p.h. and 95 m.p.h. Category 2: winds between 96 m.p.h. and 110 m.p.h.
Storm surge was also quantified by category in the earliest published versions of the scale dating back to 19726. However, hurricane size (extent of hurricane-force winds), local bathymetry (depth of near-shore waters), topography, the hurricane’s forward speed and angle to.