Weather Whys; Saffir Simpson

This is weather-wise. Many sorts of hurricanes have hit or threatened the coastal regions of the United States. Some have caused millions of dollars in property damage, as well as significant loss of life. Others have done little more than down a few tree limbs, and in fact have brought quantities of beneficial rain. Because of the variety of storms, one person's definition of a strong hurricane might be very different from another's. So to avoid confusion and to aid the scientific process, it was necessary to create an objective scale to classify the storms. Two scientists Herbert Safair and Robert Simpson developed such a scale. They based it partly on wind speed, partly on central barometric pressure, and partly on expected or observed damage. It's called the Safair Simpson Scale, and it's widely used today. The scale rates hurricanes from one to five, with five being the most severe. A category one or minimal storm has maximum sustained winds from 74 to 95 miles per hour,

and its central pressure may be as low as 28.94 inches of mercury. A category two storm packs winds of up to 110 miles per hour, and may have a central pressure down to 28.5. The last three categories encompass the more dangerous hurricanes. The maximum sustained winds in a category three storm may be up to 130 miles per hour, with a central pressure slightly under 28 inches of mercury. A hurricane with winds between 131 and 155 miles per hour falls in category four, and maximum sustained winds greater than 155 place a storm in category five. Of course, a hurricane of that strength can devastate communities in its path. Hurricanes, Camille, and Gilbert are just a couple of examples. For weather-wise, I'm Drew Barlow.