Hurricane categories: the Saffir-Simpson Scale

There's not much hurricane news lately (which is a good thing), so let's take a look at some definitions.

Storms are classified into categories, ranked by their maximum sustained winds. (Sustained just means constant, rather than a temporary gust.) The ranking system is called the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Tropical depressions are storms with winds less than 39 mph.

A tropical storm has winds of 40 to 74 mph. At this point the storm is given a human name. (See previous post for a list of this year's names.)

Hurricanes are divided into five numbered categories. The higher the number, the more severe the storm.

A Category 1 hurricane has winds of 74 to 95 mph. It typically creates a 4 to 5 foot storm surge and causes minimal damage

Category 2 hurricanes have winds of 96 mph to 110 mph with a storm surge of 6 to 8 feet.

Category 3 hurricanes have winds of 111 mph to 130 mph and creates storm surges of 9 to 12 feet.

A Category 4 hurricane has winds of 131 mph to 155 mph, causing storm surges 13 feet to 18 feet high.

A rare Category 5 hurricane has winds above 155 mph and can cause a storm surge higher than 18 feet.