Should a Category 6 be added to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale?

Due to the number of hurricanes that have undergone rapid intensification, some researchers have discussed adding a category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane Ian roared onto Florida’s West Coast as a category 5 in 2022. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian, another category 5 storm with winds reaching 185 mph, tore through the Bahamas. It was there in the Bahamas that the storm surge reached 21 feet in some spots.One year prior, it was Hurricane Michael’s turn, a category 5 that nearly wiped out Mexico Beach in Florida’s Panhandle.Currently, a category 5 is an open-ended category with any sustained winds over 157 mph. A leading expert at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is campaigning for the addition of a category 6 classification. In a study, Michael Wehner, PhD, and the Berkeley Lab found that the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale fails to tell the full story of higher wind speeds.”The strongest storms are getting stronger. Five storms all in the Pacific have reached that intensity, and they have all been in the last 10 years since 2013,” Wehner said.The storms all went through a process called rapid intensification, an increase in wind speeds of 35 mph or more in 24 hours. It is fueled by warm waters and little wind shear. This year, Wehner is concerned about the Gulf of Mexico. “We are concerned particularly about the Gulf of Mexico. If we have the perfect storm, it could reach these intensities,” Wehner said.Wehner and his team are calling for a category 6 category, which would be a storm with winds over 192 mph.However, some experts believe that adding a category 6 would not be beneficial in relaying important weather information. Jamie Rhome is the Deputy Director of the National Hurricane Center and says the same idea has been brought up over the past 25 years. “There is no known storm that would have reached this category 6 level. It’s a lot of hype without a lot of information,” Rhome said.

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