How are hurricanes categorized and what do the categories signify? In the late 1960s, Herbert Saffir created a system to rate potential damage caused by hurricane winds. This system was later upgraded in the early 1970s by Saffir, a consulting engineer in Coral Gables, Florida, and Dr. Robert Simpson, Director of the National Hurricane Center. The rating is based on wind speed, barometric pressure, and storm surge estimates. This provides an estimation of property damage and flooding along coastal areas where the hurricane is forecasted to hit land. However, it cannot predict loss of life. Below is the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale used as a reference .
Category 1
Minimal Winds 74 to 95 mph Surge = 4 to 5 Ft.
Category 2
Moderate Winds 96 to 110 mph Surge = 6 to 8 Ft.
Category 3
Extensive Winds 111 to 130 mph Surge = 9 to 12 Ft.
Category 4
Extreme Winds 131 to 155 mph Surge = 13 to 18 Ft.
Category 5
Catastrophic Winds 155 mph or greater Surge = 18 Ft. or more
The practice of naming hurricanes originated centuries ago, but it was not until World War II that female names were first used to identify them. In 1953, the US weather service officially adopted this idea and introduced a new phonetic alphabet using women's names from A to W. The naming convention was later expanded to include male names in 1978, possibly influenced by the Women's Liberation movement in the 60's and 70's.
Naming hurricanes makes tracking storms simpler and less confusing compared to using their coordinates. This is especially crucial when dealing with multiple storms and transmitting information between weather stations and ships, as well as ship to ship communication. Additionally, it helps avoid the possibility of a weatherman stumbling over data and instead being able to easily report "Hurricane Jane Reports" or for historical records like Hurricane Camille.
Storms have an international reach, so names with a global influence have been chosen. Who makes these selections? Countries involved reach an agreement during the World Meteorological Organization. I am unsure of the process for determining the names up for vote. Could they possibly nominate their loved ones like children, wives, girlfriends or relatives? (If anyone has insight, please feel free to share. I reached out but received no response.) In cases of severe storms, names can be retired and replaced with new ones. For instance, Tropical Storm Jane can escalate to Hurricane Jane. We've seen variations such as Hurricane Mark and Hurricane Marc.
Are names ever exhausted? There are separate lists for the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans, which are each rotated annually. Therefore, the same names will be used in 2001 and 2007. However, this rotation does not apply to the Central and Western Pacific Ocean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida is constantly monitoring all ocean storms. Any storm with winds exceeding 39 miles per hour is deemed a Tropical Storm and given a name. Winds under 39 miles per hour are simply classified as strong gusts of wind.