To accommodate the mega-hurricanes generated by global warming conditions, scientists have proposed adding a "Category Six", expanding the Saffir-Simpson scale 1 through 5 rating now applied to storms. Hurricane Patricia reached wind speeds of 215 mph well beyond the 157 mph level classed as Category 5 as well as having the second lowest barometric pressure ever recorded.
[photo] Rapid intensification of hurricanes is considered to be a consequence of very warm surface waters. Patricia escalated from a tropical disturbance to a Category 5 in just 24 hours. It made landfall near Jalisco, Mexico.
A category six cyclone would have sustained winds above 192 mph, speed almost impossible to imagine and as fast as a Formula One race car. The new study in which the new category was proposed is published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences. The Saffir-Simpson scale was developed by a civil engineer and a meteorologist. It classifies storms according to sustained wind speed. A wind speed of 74 mph is classified as a category one. Category five storms have caused incredible amounts of damage on shore. Katrina's ravaging of New Orleans, Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico and typhoon Haiyan's killing of 6,000 people are recent examples of their destructive power.
The authors said their proposal does not mean a category six storm is likely in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico, but such a storm is certainly possible given the extraordinary heating of ocean surface waters due to climate change.
Satellite data shows that storms are increasing in severity. The Saffir-Simpson scale is an imperfect measure of a cyclone's destructive power since most damage arises from intense rainfall and flooding. But a category six storm would definitely produce a large storm surge that would inundate coastal zones. Wind speeds of that magnitude would collapse buildings, rip up trees, and severely damage infrastructure.
