Experts call for new Category 6 to classify Melissa: 'It's impossible to boil the threats of a hurricane down'

Record-breaking Hurricane Melissa has renewed calls to amend the scale used to classify the strength of a hurricane and estimate the potential damage it could inflict when it makes landfall. Some scientists say the over-50-year-old Saffir-Simpson scale might not adequately convey the danger of high-end storms.

Some scientists say it’s time to rethink how we measure hurricanes. Here's why

A Georgia Tech researcher says we may need more tools to measure the full impacts of strong hurricanes like Melissa.
AOL

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale Categories Explained

When you hear terms like Category 1, Category 3 or even the rare Category 5 mentioned regarding hurricanes, what is being discussed is the classification system for hurricanes based on their winds. Here is what the scale means: The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane ...
Forbes

Is It Time For A New Hurricane Scale? A Florida Expert Thinks So

For the last few years, I have opined about the inadequacy of the Saffir — Simpson scale for conveying the full impacts of hurricanes. Harvey (2017), Milton (2024) and Helene (2024) are examples of hurricanes that altered landscapes and entire regions ...

See how Hurricane Melissa, among strongest on record, compares with historic storms

Melissa is among three Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall with 185 mph winds. Another storm to do so was the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.
Phys.org

Storms are changing. Should hurricane scale change too?

As climate change continues to reshape the intensity and behavior of hurricanes, meteorologists and researchers are examining whether the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a decades-old classification system, still adequately communicates the full scope ...
WLRN

A USF researcher suggests a new hurricane measuring scale

A University of South Florida researcher and a team from the Netherlands are proposing a new way to measure hurricane severity. Jennifer Collins had been studying evacuation patterns when she saw people would not leave high-risk areas unless the storm was ...

Meteorologist struggles to hold it together reporting on deadly Hurricane Melissa: 'Oh my Jesus Christ'

Meteorologist John Morales needed a moment to collect himself while reporting on Hurricane Melissa, the deadly storm making landfall in Jamaica: 'Oh my Jesus Christ.'

'If a hurricane hits, we're screwed,' Haitians say about Hurricane Melissa

Melissa is a 'catastrophic' storm, the strongest possible on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the US National Hurricane Center. In Haiti, impoverished by years of gang violence, more than 3,650 residents in southern parts of the country moved into temporary shelters.
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