The Limitations of Adding a Category Six to Hurricane Classification

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The National Hurricane Center is hesitant to add a category six to hurricane classification due to concerns in the scientific community that it could lead to unintended consequences. There is a fear that the public may not respond differently to a category six compared to a category four or five, leading to confusion and potential inaction. Too many categories in a scale can make it harder for people to interpret the severity, with studies showing that five is already a number the human mind can easily comprehend. The consensus from the NHC is that category fours and fives are still considered catastrophic, raising doubts about the necessity of introducing a category six.

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 There's now debate among meteorologists about whether the scale is obsolete, and it may be time for something new.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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