I must have missed this thread when it was originally written....

You can compare the Saffir-Simpson scale to the Richter scale for earthquakes. Both are quantitative scales, with Saffir depending on windspeed and Richter depending on magnitude (which is based upon amplitude of the largest wave in the seismogram and distance from the epicenter). However, it is possible that earthquakes of lower Richter magnitude can cause higher damage. You have to also consider population, construction of structures, nature of the ground surface, duration of vibrations, etc. For earthquakes, there is a second scale, the modified mercalli intensity scale that takes all of this into account and provides a qualitative description of the damage based on everything, not just magnitude. It ranks quakes from 1-12 based on which description bast fits what happend. Perhaps it would be cool if hurricanes had a similar damage scale....

Now, here's my question... what is the rational behind the size of the bins for the Saffir-Simpson scale.... I mean, wouldn't it have made more sense to make them the same size? See below:
Cat 1 74-95 mph (21)
Cat 2 96-110 mph (14)
Cat 3 111-130 mph (19)
Cat 4 131-155 mph (24)
Cat 5 >155 mph