What Is The Saffir-Simpson Scale?
The Saffir-Simpson Scale is the official way to measure tropical cyclones based on wind speed. Tropical cyclones, which can be known as hurricanes (in the Atlantic Ocean and North East Pacific Ocean), Typhoons (in the Northwest Pacific Ocean), or Cyclones (In the Indian Ocean and South Pacific), are the most destructive storms on Earth, The Saffir Simpson Scale grades them on power, with each tier being known as a ‘category’. If you have ever heard of a hurricane referred to as something such as a ‘category 2’, this is what it refers to. The larger the number, rated from 1 to 5, the more potential destruction the storm could bring.
What Are The Ratings On The Saffir-Simpson Scale?
There are seven ratings on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, ranging from tropical depression to category 5 hurricane. The bottom two rankings, tropical depression and tropical storm define weather patterns similar to hurricanes that in some cases, do become hurricanes or were hurricanes in the past. The other five, ranging from category 1 hurricane to category 5 hurricanes measure storms strong enough to be considered hurricanes, grading them in tiers of power. As with the Fujita scale, Enhanced Fujita scale, and other methods used to measure tornadoes, the higher rankings of the Saffir-Simpson Scale are much rarer, with lower ratings being very common.
A tropical depression is the grade given to a storm that has the same swirling wind patterns as a hurricane but with wind speeds of less than 62 km/h (38 mph). Although they lack the usual panic-inducing damage of hurricanes and tropical storms, they can cause flooding and landslides. When a tropical depression is seen developing in the Atlantic, it is given a number to help track it. A hurricane that weakens over land can become a tropical storm, and then a tropical depression before finally dissipating.
A tropical storm has winds of 63 -118km/h (39-73 mph). When a tropical depression becomes a tropical storm, it is given a name to help keep track of it, and so the public can be made aware of it. A tropical storm can begin to deal property damage, cause storm surges, and pick up dangerous debris, throwing it around. Power outages, shattered windows, damage to foliage, and minor damage to rooves are all possible. Sometimes, it can also spawn tornadoes. Although these tornadoes are on average less powerful than tornadoes that form independently, they are still dangerous, especially since they are hitting things that have sustained damage from a tropical storm.
A category 1 hurricane has winds of 119-153 km/h (74-95 mph). Although, most well-constructed homes and other structures will have very little damage, poorly built structures, and mobile homes can suffer significant damage. Weaker shingles can be torn off rooves, and trees can be heavily damaged, and even snapped if they are small enough. Flooding is usually to be expected, and power outages are very likely.
A category 2 hurricane has winds of 154-177 km/h (96-110 mph). At this point, damage to rooves is to be expected, with weaker shingles often torn away completely, and even stronger ones still suffering minor damage, most structures will be slightly damaged, with poorly built ones being more heavily damaged, and mobile homes will usually be very heavily impacted, with heavy damage and destruction being possible. Power outages, uprooted trees, and near-complete power outages are to be expected.
A category 3 hurricane has winds that range from 178-208 km/h (111-129 mph). Any hurricane that reaches this level gains the title of a major hurricane, with usually only 3 or so even reaching this level annually, even in a harsh year. Homes that aren’t specifically built to withstand stronger storms, such as a hurricane or tornado will almost certainly suffer major damage. Most trees will almost certainly be uprooted, and if you are in the path of one of these monsters, you should expect to lose power and water for a long period.
A category 4 hurricane has winds from 209-251 km/h (130-156 mph). Even the most well-made structures are likely to receive heavy damage, with power lines, trees, signs, and almost everything else falling gravely. It’s very possible that even if most homes do survive, the area will be uninhabitable for weeks due to power outages, and sheer damage to the area as a whole with trees toppled, and roads destroyed. The flooding might even take weeks to recede. Hurricane Hazel, at its peak, was category 4.
A category 5 hurricane has winds of 252 km/h (157 mph) or more. This will generally leave almost everything in its path either completely destroyed or at least heavily damaged. Do not expect any area that received category 5 damage to be at all inhabitable for several weeks at least, as damage repair often can’t even be attempted until the usually very intense storm surge retreats back into the ocean. It used to be rare to get more than a couple of category 5 storms in the Atlantic each decade, but with global warming making them more common, several in a decade, and even multiple in the same year, is now very common. Hurricane Dorrian peaked at category 5 strength.
What Is The History Of The Saffir-Simpson Scale?
In 1969, the UN tasked civil engineer Herbert Saffir with studying how to create low-cost housing in areas that are more prone to hurricanes. After noticing that there was no consensus scale of how to measure hurricane strength into different tiers. Two years later, Saffir teamed up with National Hurricane Centre director Robert Simpson to create a scale based on how much damage a hurricane can do. The scale was completed and introduced to the general public in 1973 and began seeing widespread use just one year later. Small changes were made, such as switching each of the tiers of power from Grades to Categories (ie using Category 2 instead of Grade 2). The scale has had some small changes over the years, such as certain categories occasionally being extended or shortened by 1-2 km/h at a time, but for the most part has remained the same.
How Useful Is The Saffir-Simpson Scale?
The Saffir-Simpson scale was created to help people determine the approximate strength of hurricanes with a single sentence. This helps ordinary people understand the strength of hurricanes and helps engineers and other people involved in construction and design create buildings and building standards able to stand up to the types of hurricanes that are most likely to occur, while also remaining on budget.
Will The Saffir-Simpson Scale Ever Be Updated?
Although more small tinkers to the Saffir-Simpson scale are likely, it is currently unknown whether the scale will have any major shifts. Critiques of the current system stem from the fact that it only measures wind speed. This means that factors such as precipitation and the width of the storm are not measured. Another major proposition has been to add a category 6 to the scale for especially powerful storms.