WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Do Hurricane Categories Mean?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren vocal Baum and today's episode is another classic

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<v Speaker 1>from our former host, Christian Sagar. Here in the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane season is upon us, so today I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>bring back a pertinent topic, how are hurricanes categorized? And

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<v Speaker 1>what do those categories really mean? Hey brain Stuff, it's

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager here. When hurricane season arrives each year on

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>those include whether it's a Category one or category five.

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<v Speaker 1>The variance between the strengths of these two storms could

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<v Speaker 1>mean the difference between life and death. Now, meteorologists rank

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<v Speaker 1>hurricanes from one to five based on the Saffer Simpson Scale.

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<v Speaker 1>The scale is a yard stick that takes into account

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>at category five, the most catastrophic. As the storm pushes

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

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<v Speaker 1>pressure forces ocean water into a huge mound near the eye,

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

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<v Speaker 1>of water reaches land. The more heat and moisture hurricane consumes,

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<v Speaker 1>the more powerful the storm becomes. That's where the Saffer

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<v Speaker 1>Simpson scale comes in. The scale was created when Robert H.

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<v Speaker 1>Simpson was director of the National Hurricane Center in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty nine, during the time Hurricane Camille blew through the

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<v Speaker 1>Caribbean and into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

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<v Speaker 1>Its winds were clocked at a hundred and ninety miles

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<v Speaker 1>per hour or three hundred and six kilometers per hour

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<v Speaker 1>as it struck Mississippi, and the official death poll from

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<v Speaker 1>wind storm surge in rain was two hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>six people. In nineteen seventy one, Herbert S. Saffer was

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<v Speaker 1>working as an engineer in Florida preparing a report for

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<v Speaker 1>the United Nations on building codes that could withstand the

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<v Speaker 1>onslaught of high speed winds. He eventually came up with

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<v Speaker 1>a table that outlined the damage to buildings wind can

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<v Speaker 1>cause at various speeds. He worked up five categories of

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<v Speaker 1>hurricanes based on damage each one could cause. In nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy two, Simpson took Saffer's numbers and correlated them with

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<v Speaker 1>storm surge estimates and barometric pressure. The result was the

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<v Speaker 1>Saffer Simpson Scale. By nineteen seventy five, the Saffer Simpson

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<v Speaker 1>scale was in widespread use. Local, state, and federal officials,

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<v Speaker 1>not to mention, the public at large now had an

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<v Speaker 1>easy to read and understand chart that outlined a hurricanes impact.

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<v Speaker 1>While the Safer Simpson scale is a good measuring tool,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't really tell the full story of a hurricanes impact.

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<v Speaker 1>Hurricanes pack a lot of kinetic energy, and as a byproduct,

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<v Speaker 1>a hurricane's power increases exponentially from one category to the

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<v Speaker 1>next as wind speed increases. A Category five hurricane, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>is five hundred times more powerful than a Category one.

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<v Speaker 1>How does this relate to property damage Compared to a

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<v Speaker 1>Category one? A Category to hurricane can generate seven times

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

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<v Speaker 1>generate a hundred and forty four times the amount of destruction.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by John Paritano and pretty by

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<v Speaker 1>Dylan Fagan and Tyler Clang. For more on listen lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts for

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