New study suggests adding Category 6 to hurricane strength scale

A new study suggests adding a Category 6 to the scale that measures hurricane strength.

Right now, the Saffir-Simpson scale stops at Category 5 for any storm with sustained winds of 157 mph or greater. But as climate change causes the ocean to grow warmer and sea levels to rise, hurricanes are expected to grow more intense.

The authors of the study, which was published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, want Category 5 speeds capped at 192 mph. Anything stronger, they propose, would be a Category 6.

According to the study, between 1980 and 2021, there were five tropical cyclones worldwide that exceeded that threshold.

But according to the Associated Press, some experts think there’s no need for a sixth category. They say the water is the deadliest factor in a hurricane, not the wind speeds, and it could give the public the wrong idea.

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