Understanding Hurricane Categories

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a five-point scale developed in 1971 by engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Robert Simpson. It is the most widely recognised scale used for categorising hurricanes. The five categories are used to classify the hurricane’s intensity and potential impact based on the wind speeds.

Categories

According to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) a potential hurricane goes through three phases (tropical disturbance, tropical depression and tropical storm) before it attains hurricane strength. Five categories are assigned to hurricanes based on their maximum sustained winds and potential hazard.

For additional information, contact:

Meteorological Service of Jamaica
Address: 65 Half Way Tree Road, Kingston
Telephone: 876-929-3700
Website: https://metservice.gov.jm/
Email: datarequest@metservice.gov.jm
X: @MetserviceJA
Instagram: @metservicejam
Facebook: Meteorological Service Jamaica

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management
Address: 2-4 Haining Road, Kingston 5
Telephone: 876-906-9674
Website: https://www.odpem.org.jm
Email: odpem@cwjamaica.com
X, Instangram: @odpem
Facebook: ODPEM.JA