Minor change proposed to hurricane wind scale
The National Hurricane Center is considering a minor change to the five-category system that describes a hurricane's strength.The proposed change would broaden the Category 4 wind speed range to 130-156 mph. Category 4 hurricanes currently are defined as storms with top winds of 131-155 mph.
Forecasters say the change would smooth out a problem in converting a storm's intensity from knots to miles per hour or kilometers per hour for public advisories. The problem arises for storms at the extreme ends of the Category 4 wind speed range.
The hurricane center says the change won't alter any storm's categorization in their records.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale classifies hurricanes by maximum sustained wind speeds, starting at 74 mph with Category 1. Category 3 and above is considered "major.
Saffir Simpson Scale - News
Eugene is packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, below the minimum 74-mph speed of a Category One hurricane, based on the Saffir-Simpson scale. “Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours,” the Miami-based center said.
The problem arises for storms at the extreme ends of the Category 4 wind speed range. The hurricane center says the change won't alter any storm's categorization in their records. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale classifies hurricanes by maximum
In a span of less than 18 hours, Muifa went from Category I- to Category IV-equivalent status and in relatively short order should become a Cat V-equivalent storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The latest Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast track (noon
Four of those were expected to strengthen into "major" hurricanes of Category 3 or higher on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, with top winds of at least 110 miles per hour, the private forecaster said. WSI's July update was unchanged from
"Storm-surge values used to be in the Saffir-Simpson scale, but they were misleading," Rhome says. A surge can be highly localized, he says, with the same storm producing more than 20 feet of surge in Texas but only 6 or 7 feet in Florida.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale: A Tool Used to Estimate Storm ...
The Saffir-Simpson (SS) Hurricane Scale is a tool used to rate hurricanes based on wind speeds measured before the storm arrives and estimate the damage it may cause. Herbert Saffir, a consulting engineer in Dade County, Florida, first modeled the scale as a way estimate the damage structures would experience at various wind speeds. Robert Simpson, a director of the National Hurricane Center, was an advocate for providing actual wind speed estimates of approaching storms to the public. It was a radical change in forecast policy in 1969 that went on to provide better and more convincing information to the public of approaching storms.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale divides hurricanes into five different classes according to wind speed, estimated flooding and property damage. It goes beyond the detail provided for hurricanes in the Beaufort Wind Force Scale .
Category One Hurricane: Winds 119-153 km/hr (74-95 mph) Storm surge is generally 1.2 to 1.5 meters (4-5) ft above normal. No real damage occurs to buildings. Damage is limited primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubs, and trees. There is the possibility of coastal road flooding and minor damage to piers.
Example storms: 2002's Hurricane Lili on the Louisiana coast and 2004's Hurricane Gaston on the South Carolina coast.
Category Two Hurricane: Winds 154-177 km/hr (96-110 mph) Storm surge is generally 1.8 to 2.4 meters (6-8) feet above normal. The roofs, doors and windows of some buildings may be damaged. Damage to mobile homes, shrubs, trees, poorly built signs, and piers is considerable. Coastal and low lying escape routes will flood two to four hours before the eye of the hurricane comes ashore. Small boats will break free of their moorings in unprotected anchorages.
Example storms: 2004's Hurricane Frances on Hutchinson Island, Florida and 2003's Hurricane Isabel on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Category Three Hurricane: Winds 178-209 km/hr (111-130 mph) Storm surge is generally 2.7 to 3.7 meters (9-12 ft) above normal. Damage will occur to shrubs, foliage blown off trees, and larger trees are blown over. Mobile homes are destroyed. Coastal and low lying escape routes will flood three to five hours before the eye of the hurricane comes ashore. Coastal flooding destroys smaller buildings and floating debris damages larger structures. Continuous terrain under 1.5 meters above sea level may be flooded up to 13 kilometers (8 miles) inland. Evacuation of low-lying residences near the shore will be required.
Saffir-Simpson scale is insufficient. A Cat 3 hurricane can be very destructive or not, depends on travel speed & whether it's dry or wet
The National Hurricane Center wants to tweak the Saffir-Simpson Scale to better align the mph/kph scales and... 
A category 1 hurricane aint shit either. Based on the Saffir Simpson scale thats winds from 75 - 105 miles per hour. In essence it's nothing
@ it's comparable to a cat 1 hurricane. rated by the same saffir-simpson scale..unless u'r in a hut/mobile home, its no biggy
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