WEBVTT - What Do Hurricane Categories Mean?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Sager here. When hurricane season arrives each year

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<v Speaker 1>on June one, phrases such as storm surge, wind speed,

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<v Speaker 1>and eyewall suddenly become part of the summer lexicon in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States. But probably the most important words to

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<v Speaker 1>know about a hurricane are those that describe its power,

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<v Speaker 1>and those include whether it's a category one or a

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<v Speaker 1>category five. The variance between the strengths of these two

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<v Speaker 1>storms could mean the difference between life and death. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>meteorologists rank hurricanes from one to five based on the

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<v Speaker 1>Saffer Simpson scale. The scale is a yardstick that takes

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<v Speaker 1>into account a hurricane's wind speed, storm surge, and air pressure,

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<v Speaker 1>and the scale begins with a category one, the least

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<v Speaker 1>powerful and dangerous hurricane, and then it moves towards its

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<v Speaker 1>climax at Category five, the most catastrophic. As the storm

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<v Speaker 1>pushes across the ocean, it gathers speed and strength. Low

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<v Speaker 1>air pressure forces ocean water into a huge mound near

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<v Speaker 1>the eye, which could create a devastating storm surge. When

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<v Speaker 1>the wall of water reaches land. The more heat and

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<v Speaker 1>moisture hurricane consumes, the more powerful the storm becomes. That's

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<v Speaker 1>where the Saffer Simpson scale comes in. The scale was

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<v Speaker 1>created when Robert H. Simpson was director of the National

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<v Speaker 1>Hurricane Center in nineteen sixty nine, during the time Hurricane

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<v Speaker 1>Camille blew through the Caribbean and into the warm waters

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<v Speaker 1>of the Gulf of Mexico. Its winds were clocked at

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and ninety miles per hour or three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and six kilometers per hour as it struck Mississippi, and

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<v Speaker 1>the official death poll from wind storm surge in rain

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<v Speaker 1>was two hundred and fifty six people. In nineteen seventy one,

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert S. Saffer was working as an engineer in Florida

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<v Speaker 1>preparing a report for the United Nations on building codes

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<v Speaker 1>that could withstand the onslaught of high speed winds. He

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<v Speaker 1>eventually came up with a table that outlined the damage

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<v Speaker 1>to buildings wind can cause at various speeds. He worked

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<v Speaker 1>up five categories of hurricanes based on damage each one

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<v Speaker 1>could cause. In nineteen seventy two, Simpson took Saffers numbers

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<v Speaker 1>and correlated them with storm surge estimates and barometric pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>The result was the Saffer Simpson Scale by nineteen seventy five,

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<v Speaker 1>the Saffer Simpson scale was in widespread use local, state,

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<v Speaker 1>and federal officials, not to mention, the public at large

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<v Speaker 1>now had an easy to read and understand chart that

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<v Speaker 1>outlined a hurricanes impact. While the Saffer Simpson scale is

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<v Speaker 1>a good measuring tool, it doesn't really tell the full

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<v Speaker 1>story of a hurricanes impact. Hurricanes pack a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>connectic and energy, and as a byproduct, a hurricane's power

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<v Speaker 1>increases exponentially from one category to the next as wind

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<v Speaker 1>speed increases. A Category five hurricane, for example, is five

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<v Speaker 1>hundred times more powerful than a Category one. How does

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<v Speaker 1>this relate to property damage Compared to a Category one?

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<v Speaker 1>A Category to hurricane can generate seven times the amount

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<v Speaker 1>of damage, while a Category five storm can generate a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and forty four times the amount of destruction. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by John Paritano and produced by Dylan Fagan.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and other topics, please visit us

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<v Speaker 1>at how stuff works dot com. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Jescelyn Shields, produced by Dylan Fagan, and For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and other topics, please visit us at how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com.