Debating the Introduction of Category Six to Hurricane Scale

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The chapter explores the ongoing debate among meteorologists and scientists regarding the necessity of adding a category six to the hurricane scale to better reflect the increasing intensity of storms caused by climate change. It delves into challenges such as the need for more research, concerns about infrastructure resilience, and difficulties in effectively communicating the risks of severe storms to the public.

After Hurricane Camille caused widespread death and destruction along the US Gulf Coast in 1969, two scientists created the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as a way to quickly warn the public when dangerous storms were on the way. Today, we’re still using the scale and its system of ranking storms as Categories 1 to 5. But in the 55 years since the scale was created, hurricanes have become more frequent, and they have gotten bigger, faster, more devastating. There's now debate among meteorologists about whether the scale is obsolete, and it may be time for something new.

Category 6

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