bobbutts
(Weather Hobbyist)
Thu Sep 22 2005 02:34 AM
Re: Category 5 Hurricane Rtia Moves Westward in the Gulf

Quote:

Because generally, there is no need for anything higher. Many storms don't even reach category 5, with the damage being so severe from such winds that the distinction between 150mph and 180mph does not warrant an entirely new categorization on the Saffir-Simpson scale.




Wouldn't the stronger winds and lower pressure make for perhaps a larger surge worth mentioning even if the wind damage is the same?. If the surge is say 30'+ then the cat 5's 18'+ seems like it's misleadingly low. Katrina hit as a cat 4 and probably had double the high end of the 13-18' surge Saffir Simpson lists for cat 4. And IMO any scale of anything should include all the possible values. I think the weather channel at least used to quantify impact of winds, surge, and inland flooding seperately. This seems more appropriate and if they want to apply an overall value they can come up with some kind of equation to combine the three.



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