How does the Saffir-Simpson scale work? The scale has five categories ranging from Category 1 — with winds from 74 mph to 95 mph to Category 5 — with sustained winds in excess of 155 mph.

If a storm is a Category 3, 4 or 5, it is deemed a "major" hurricane due to the potential for "significant loss of life and ...

The longstanding hurricane rating system, the Saffir-Simpson Scale, only takes into account sustained wind speeds and not the ...

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As hurricane season is quickly approaching, let’s remind you about the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. This scale is designed to categorize hurricanes based on wind speed ...

Hurricane Erin raced from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm. If Erin keeps ramping up, is there a Category 6?

The Saffir-Simpson scale doesn't account for storm surge or flooding. This is an Inside Science story. (Inside Science) -- Meteorologists rank hurricanes from category 1 to 5 based on wind speed ...

The scale gave them a much better handle on that," said Simpson, whose contribution was adding possible storm surge heights for each category. Saffir was born in New York in 1917.

It's been 45 years since the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was unveiled, and the names of the monster storms it classifies are still referenced today – Camille, Andrew, Hugo, Mitch.

Simpson and Saffir worked together. Simpson assigned a range of wind speeds and storm surges for each category, and the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale was born.